Manchester United plan £50m summer raid for Luka Modric

By Rob Stanworth

Manchester United are prepared to wait until the summer to make a £50 million move for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric.

The 26-year-old is one of the main reasons behind Spurs' climb to third in the table and has replaced Wesley Sneijder as The Reds' number one target.

The Croatian star was wanted by Chelsea earlier on in the season but was convinced to stay at White Hart Lane by Harry Redknapp and Daniel Levy.

It is believed that Sir Alex Ferguson views Modric as the long-term successor to Paul Scholes, who recently came out of retirement to ease United's injury crisis.

At the start of the campaign Sir Alex attempted to sign Dutchman Sneijder, however his £250,000-a-week wages were a major stumbling block.

Modric currently earns in the region of £60,000 at Spurs and United would be able to double that offer to tempt their man.

Spurs will hope that they can keep hold of Modric and his worth to the side could be shown today (January 22nd) as they take on table-toppers Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.