Tottenham’s Modric destined to jump ship, United and Real circling

Tottenham’s midfield playmaker Luka Modric is expected to hand in a formal transfer request to the club as he seeks to force through a move from White Hart Lane. The player is on holiday following Croatia’s exit from Euro 2012, but is believed to have arranged a meeting with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to inform him of his decision to leave. The Croatian’s future at the club has been the subject of rampant speculation, with Real Madrid and Manchester United both keen on securing the services of the 26-year-old. Modric’s decision comes after Spurs told him they intend to keep him until the end of his contract in 2016, unless a club meets their 40 million pound ($62.2 million) valuation. United are keen to make an all-cash offer for the player, and are thought to be willing to pay as much as 35 million pounds, whereas Real are said to prefer a player-plus-cash deal. Spurs could be tempted to do business with the Spanish champions over the Old Trafford outfit, with Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin believed to be highly rated by the north London side and out of favor at Real. The decision to sell to Real would provide Spurs with a ready-made replacement for Modric, as well as providing the club with ample funds to invest elsewhere in the squad. German-born Sahin has 31 caps for Turkey, and only joined Real from Borussia Dortmund last summer. The 23-year-old arrived as one of European football’s hottest prospects, but has struggled to nail down a place in the Real Madrid first team. Polish defender Lukasz Piszczek is believed to have interested Chelsea boss Roberto di Matteo, with the Blues looking to add defensive reinforcements to their squad. The European champions recently released Portuguese fullback Jose Bosingwa, and have put veteran defender Paulo Ferreira on the transfer list. Piszczek impressed while representing Poland at Euro 2012, and the defender has been attracting interest from a host of European clubs. Di Matteo failed to land Theodor Gebre Selassie from Czech champions Slovan Liberec and are believed to have drawn up a list of alternatives. Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel, Lille’s Mathieu Debuchy and Manchester United’s Rafael da Silva are also believed to be on di Matteo’s radar. AC Milan defender Thiago Silva has delivered a shock to the club with his new contract demands. After Milan rejected a 37 million pound offer for the Brazilian from PSG, the player has submitted a request for an enormous pay increase, wanting his current salary of 3.6 million pounds to rise to 6 million pounds. TMW say the player’s agent has argued that Silva would have earned considerably more had a move to PSG been sanctioned, and has demanded Milan offer an improved contract to the defender. Jan Vertonghen’s move to Spurs from Ajax is reportedly in doubt after it emerged that the player is entitled to 15 percent of the transfer fee the Dutch club receive. Spurs have all but agreed to a 9.5 million pound deal for Vertonghen, but the clause in the Ajax captain’s contract could see the move collapse. “This is a shame,” he said, before adding “I thought that it would be sorted out much sooner. “As it looks now, I’ll be at Ajax on July 2. I’m hoping for a solution, but I’m not expecting a solution. I have one advantage – Ajax have got a good coach who knows me. “I play in a good, stable squad. Let’s become champions with Ajax for the third time in a row.” When asked whether the details revealed were accurate, the Belgian international said he was stunned that the information had been leaked. “I’m shocked. The percentage is correct – it’s unbelievable. “I know that at Ajax a lot of things are leaking. When you hear it about other football players, you don’t feel it. It’s different when it’s about yourself.” Manchester City have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from German champions Borussia Dortmund. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is believed to be a big fan of the 23-year-old, watching him score a hat trick in the German Cup final against Bayern Munich last season. But German daily Bild reported that City have also been keeping tabs on the player, and are supposedly preparing a bid for the free-scoring forward. Dortmund are believed to be willing to sell the Lewandowski for around 15 million pounds. The Daily Star