Former Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan has revealed that the club were close to signing 2018 World Cup Golden Ball winner Luka Modric.
Keegan made a push for the Croatia international during his second spell in charge of the Magpies in 2008, but saw his efforts undone by then vice president of player recruitment Tony Jimenez.
“At one point I took a call from Luka Modric’s agent to ask if I would be keen on signing the player from Dinamo Zagreb,” Keegan wrote in his new autobiography My Life in Football.
“Modric had already been speaking to Spurs and his agent was honest enough to explain the move to White Hart Lane was likely to happen. Yet it was clear there might still be a chance to gazump that deal, otherwise the agent would never have bothered getting in touch.
“Dinamo Zagreb wanted £16 million and the wages were quite high, but it was still within our budget and, at 22, Modric had his best years ahead of him. His agent flew up from London and this time it was me inviting Jimenez to be part of it, rather than him cutting me out of the loop.
“It was an opportunity to sign one of the outstanding young footballers in Europe and, to begin with, I was making decent inroads. Then Jimenez piped up. ‘Can I come in here?’ he said. ‘I don’t think Luka is good enough for the Premier League. He’s too lightweight. He’s decent, but he’s not good enough. My view is that he’s too lightweight for English football, he’s too small.'”
OPINION
It’s bizarre that after the success we have seen smaller players have in the Premier League, both before and since this incident in 2008, that a player’s height and weight is still seen as a barrier to success. Modric is one of the most technically gifted players of his generation and he’s gone on to have huge success at Real Madrid, so this revelation from Keegan will be a bitter blow for Newcastle supporters. He obviously would have been a sensational signing for the club, and clearly there was some interest on his end, but the move was undone by the amateurism that still plagues Newcastle to this day. There will likely be many such stories from Keegan’s upcoming autobiography showcasing the incompetence that he had to deal with during his second spell at the club. It’s a shame because he had such an unforgettable first stint on Tyneside and is so beloved by the people, but he’s been driven out by a tyrannical owner and his associates.