Will Corluka bring out the best in Modric?

cpawfan · Sep 13, 2008

http://www.footballfancast.com/blog...can-be-catalyst-bringing-best-out-modric/5317

Football FanCast columnist Daniel Mitchell wonders if Spurs' forgotten signing Vedran Corluka could be the catalyst in bringing the best out of Luka Modric.

So as Spurs find themselves heading into their first Monday night fixture of the season, all of the talk is about Pavlyuchenko. Will he settle quickly? Can he bag a debut goal? Will he be the next Berbatov? Yet I find myself wondering, aren't we forgetting someone?

In amongst Spurs frantic transfer window dealings a certain Vedran Corluka turned up at Spurs Lodge, held aloft his new number 22 shirt, and disappeared again. It seemed odd to me that a player who Spurs had been after for a few weeks, and had just paid 8.5 million quid for, could sign up with barely any fanfare at all.

So rather than writing yet another article about Pavlyuchenko, Berbatov and Keane's departures, or whether Levy and Comolli are Satans or Superheroes, let's give Mr Corluka some overdue attention.

The signing itself was a slightly bizarre one to me at first. Man City had bought this chap only one season ago for just over £8m, and were now selling him for barely any profit, despite the fact that he'd just had a strong debut season with them. On top of this Man City sold him just as they were being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group, meaning that overnight they became the richest club in the world, and certainly weren't in need of a measly £8.5m.

Hughes had clearly stated his admiration for Corluka's abilities and seemed to want him to stay, so we can only guess as to why he was sold. Perhaps Hughes was lying and didn't actually want Sven's old signing. Maybe Shinawatra really wasn't aware of Abu Dhabi until the very last minute and needed the money. Perhaps he was aware and had decided Man City could now afford better. Whatever the reason behind the sale, I think Spurs were big winners in this deal.

Spurs have just bought a Croatian international with 26 caps to his name, who has already proven he is up to the strains of Premiership life, and who can play in a variety of positions which Spurs need back-up in. Whilst Corluka's position of choice is right back, he has proven himself to be an adept centre back at City, and a strong defensive midfielder for his national team. Standing at 6'4 and weighing in at almost 13 and a half stone, he would certainly give the Spurs midfield some of the height and physical presence it has been lacking for so long.

Is this Ramos' plan for him though? It seems to me that Ramos is inclined towards a new 4-5-1 formation, and with the two new signings, Spurs should certainly be able to make it work. By sticking Pavlyuchenko up front with Bentley and Gio on the flanks, Modric and Jenas moving forwards from the centre, and Corluka sat in behind protecting the back four; Spurs would finally have a balanced team again.

I've been saying that Spurs are in desperate need of a defensive minded midfielder for some time now, and whilst Corluka isn't the Gattuso-style player I had hoped for, he has proven on an international stage that he is up to the task of anchoring a midfield. Perhaps I was wrong and we don't need a midfield general after all. Maybe we can still do things the Spurs way and have a player in that position that can pass well, run with the ball, and generally play good football whilst doing the dirty work as well. On top of this I feel that Corluka could be the catalyst for Modric to begin showing what he is really capable of going forward. It will surely be good for Luka's attacking instincts knowing that he has a good friend and international colleague sat behind him protecting the back four.

Whilst there was a lot of talk about Veloso coming in the summer, the Croat also provides us with more cover at CB. King's knee is no longer reliable and he could be out for the season at any moment nowadays, and whilst Woodgate has been supreme since he came to Spurs, I still wonder about that hamstring of his. Having Corluka available along with Dawson means Spurs now have strong 3rd and 4th choice CBs.

Vedran's preferred role at RB seems unlikely to be one he will be filling at Spurs. Alan Hutton put in some superb performances last season when fit, and Gunter has shown enough potential to justify being Alan's understudy. However Vedran would have known this before he came, and he doesn't seem the kind of player to kick up a fuss about which position he plays in anyway.

So Spurs have bought a player regularly capped by a strong international team, who is proven at Premiership level, can cover two of Spurs bogey positions, can give the midfield some physical presence, and can act as a foil for Modric. And all of this comes for £8.5m, which is a fair price in today's market. I don't know about you, but I think Spurs may well have made one of the best buys of the season without anyone even noticing...
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CelticKing · Sep 13, 2008

Its always good when you have two players from the same country, it will help make their stay in the city (and country) much better, I'm pretty sure they'll be good friends during their stay at Tottenham.

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Will Corluka bring out the best in Modric?

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