Tottenham faced a huge fight last season with Chelsea in order to keep hold of their star midfielder Luka Modric. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has acknowledged the fact that it will be once again a fight for the Croatian in the summer. The 26-year-old has been in imperious form for Tottenham this season, and has been one of the reasons for them to be challenging at the top four. However, Redknapp reckons that Tottenham may have to sell either Luka Modric or Gareth Bale if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season. Tottenham, Newcastle, Arsenal, and Chelsea are the teams involved in the race for the top four.
Even finishing in the top four will not guarantee Champions League football next season given that the teams will have to play a play-off round against a very strong team from either Italy or Spain. Yet, finishing in the top four is seen as the way to hold the stars according to Harry Redknapp. After suffering a serious dip in form, Tottenham have slipped into the fifth position in the league. At one stage, they had a 10 point advantage over Arsenal and were in the third position.
“When they came to the club, Tottenham weren’t in the Champions League, and were nowhere near getting in the Champions League. They play for Tottenham. They’re at a great club. There’s no reason they should want to leave. If we don’t make it this year, we’ll try again next year. There’s not too many clubs they could go to better than Tottenham. Gareth Bale and Luka Modric have both signed long-term contracts,” he said. Tottenham will be having matches against Bolton away from home and Villa away from home. Arsenal have a relatively easy fixture list and are the favourites to finish in the third position.