Real Madrid have ruled out Luka Modric’s transfer to Inter after being priced out of a move for Tottenham creator Christian Eriksen, reports Gianluca Di Marzio.
Modric has been heavily linked with a sensational move to Inter this summer but the Serie A giants look set to miss out on the Croatia international before Friday’s deadline for Italian clubs.
Madrid president Florentino Perez has endured a tough summer following Cristiano Ronaldo’s shock departure, coupled with the club’s inability to sign a replacement for the 33-year-old.
Losing Modric against the club’s wishes would be another blow to his candidacy but the 2018 World Cup finalist now looks set to stay after Madrid failed to sound out his replacement.
Julen Lopetegui’s side reportedly approached Tottenham for Eriksen, but chairman Daniel Levy told the European champions he would cost €200m (£178.2m).
Madrid have money to spend this summer but Perez cannot justify making the Denmark international one of the most expensive players of all-time when refusing to pay that much for Chelsea winger Eden Hazard earlier in the window.
The transfer window for English clubs shut last week and Tottenham would not be able to replace Eriksen until January, hiking his valuation up.
Eriksen has developed into one of the best creators in the Premier League since joining Tottenham from Ajax in 2013 and has previously been linked with a move to Madrid’s Spanish rivals Barcelona.
Since August 2015, the 26-year-old only Kevin De Bruyne (43) has provided more Premier League assists than Eriksen (38), while only Mesut Ozil (332) has created more goalscoring chances than the Tottenham ace in the same period (327).
