Chelsea Offer Tottenham Three Players To Seal £35m Modric Transfer

Chelsea will give Tottenham their pick of three of their players in a bid to secure the signing of Luka Modric.

The Blues are desperate to bring the Croatia international to Stamford Bridge but have been surprised by their rival's stubbornness in negotiations. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is notorious for driving a hard bargain but he has outdone himself on this occasion by refusing to be moved by either Chelsea's approach on the player's wishes.

Bids of £22m and £27m have been lodged and rejected and the West London club is now prepared to up the ante, driven by a need to add some much-needed creativity to their squad. To tempt Tottenham they are prepared to let them have one or all of Yossi Benayoun, Gael Kakuta and Salomon Kalou - plus cash - in a last-ditch bid to snare Modric despite chairman Bruce Buck attempting to play down the pursuit of any potential transfer targets

Manager Harry Redknapp is known to be an admirer of Didier Drogba though Chelsea will not sanction the departure of the giant Ivorian despite his advancing years and fierce competition for the central striker role. Whether Spurs will have their head turned remains to be seen as they weigh up the need to raise funds to invest in a new front line against the prestige of keeping Modric at the club.