EPL News: Ray Wilkins Says Chelsea Will Get Modric, Arsenal Will Struggle

Former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins has stated that it will be very difficult for Tottenham to keep hold of midfielder Luka Modric once Chelsea dip into their transfer kitty and make them a bumper offer. He also said that he expected Arsenal to struggle next season due to lack of experience and spine in their team.

Wilkins gives his two cents on Chelsea and Arsenal

Chelsea’s widespread pursuit of Luka Modric has been one of the most tedious and long drawn out transfer sagas of the summer so far. The midfielder publicly admitted his desire to play for the Blues, but both manager Harry Redknapp and Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy came out with strongly worded statements reiterating the fact that Modric would not be sold under any circumstances.

Speaking to Talksport, Wilkins said he expected Modric to play for Chelsea next season. Having seen the West London club work on their transfers firsthand, he said there was a sizable chance that they would succeed in luring Modric to Stamford Bridge. He gave both Modric and fellow Spurs player Gareth Bale a glowing review, but said it was difficult to refuse a better offer in any walk of life including football.

He said-

“I don’t think it will be too long before Chelsea start dipping into the transfer market,”

“There will be some big names coming in and there will probably be a few disappearing as well.

“I think it will be extremely difficult for Tottenham to hold on to Modric if you look at the numbers being thrown around.

“Modric is wonderfully talented but football is a job of work and if someone offers more money to go elsewhere, no matter what business or what vocation they have in life, they will leave and go for something better.

“Modric is a fantastic player – he and Gareth Bale lit up the Premier League and Champions League for me with their performances.”

Speaking about North London outfit Arsenal, he said that speculation regarding important players like Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri would prove counter-productive over the course of next season, and they would end up without silverware for a seventh consecutive season. He cast doubt over whether Arsene Wenger would change his rigid transfer policy regarding young and inexpensive players.

“Arsenal are leaving it too late in the transfer market and are losing players hand over fist. They need experienced players and have done for the last couple of seasons and I don’t see them going for trophies this year,”

“Nasri and Fabregas have got to the point where they are financially secure young men – now it is the time for them to win,”

“Arsenal is a wonderful football club but the trophies are missing which means their best players will move on.”

“Arsene Wenger is letting two top players go, but who is he going to bring in to replace them? Is it going to be a couple of young men from France or Spain who need a couple of years to adapt to the Premier League or will he change his ways?“

It remains to be seen whether Wilkins is proven right over either of his predictions. Stay tuned for more in this regard.