Ranking The 30 Tottenham Transfers in the Daniel Levy Era
By Ryan Wrenn
#3 Best Transfer: Luka Modrić, Central midfielder
Transfer fee: £16.5 million
Former club: Dinamo Zagreb (1. HNL [Croatian First Football League])
Years with Spurs: July 1, 2008 — August 27, 2012
Stats: 160 appearances, 17 goals, 27 assists (in all competitions)
Little could have known what kind of player Luka Modrić was going to be when he arrived at Tottenham in 2008. Sure, he was good, but he was also small and decidedly unlike most other Premier League players. Would he be able to cope with the physicality of the English game?
Harry Redknapp answered that question firmly in the affirmative early on. Though he primarily played as a number 10 before – and still does for Croatia – Redknapp had Modrić much deeper in midfield, acting as the engine around which Tottenham’s counter-attacking gears revolved. Modrić succeeded admirably despite his size and quickly repaid his sizable price tag. His contributions weren’t always obvious, but there’s little doubt that Tottenham owed its Champions League season in no small part to the diminutive Croat.
Next: Best Transfer: #2