Madrid Back for Modric with Improved Bid

Spanish champions Real Madrid are reportedly willing to increase their bid for Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Luka Modric to £33m, according to a Daily Mail report. However, they are not ready to match Spurs' £40m asking price for the Croatian midfielder.

Modric, whose Tottenham future continues to be the subject of intense discussion, has also been linked with moves to Chelsea and Manchester United. The player has repeatedly expressed his desire to move from White Hart Lane. Spurs denied him a move to Stamford Bridge last summer, despite a £40m offer and remain insistent they will not sell the former Dinamo Zagreb player for anything less than the asking price.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who was criticised by former Spurs man Niko Kranjcar, wants £35m for his star and is equally uninterested in a cash/player deal or a swap involving Madrid's Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin. Meanwhile, French club Paris St Germain (PSG), who recently bought Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian centre back Thiago Silva from Italian champions AC Milan, have also expressed an interest in the player.

"Real Madrid have now indicated they will increase their offer because they can see that Spurs are not interested in the players in part exchange. Andre Villas-Boas has said he is not interested in Sahin. Real are back with a bid of £33 million but they do not value Modric at £40 million and in any case they don't have so much money," ESPN quoted a source as saying.

"With Daniel Levy insisting the price has to be more than £35 million and close to £40 million this will drag on and maybe Levy will wait until the very last minute before making a final decision," the source added.

Modric, who was recently fined for refusing to train with the first team and intentionally missing the pre-season tour of the US, has apologised to Tottenham for his actions after returning for training on Monday.