UPDATE: 18 June 2011
CHELSEA HAVE UPPED THEIR BID FOR THE CROATIAN PLAYMAKER TO £25 MILLION. IN AN INTERVIEW YESTERDAY MODRIC HAS ALSO STATED HE WANTS TO MAKE A MOVE TO CHELSEA.. THIS HAS BEEN FOLLOWED BY A STATEMENT FROM TOTTENHAM CHAIRMAN DANIEL LEVY, MAKING IT CLEAR THAT THEY WILL NOT SELL MODRIC OR ANY OTHER KEY PLAYER.

Luka Modrić is a central midfielder who plays for English side Tottenham and Croatia. Modrić signed with Dinamo Zagreb as a seventeen year old in 2002. He signed for Tottenham ahead of the 2008-09 season.
Modrić’s was absolutely brilliant as playmaker in his last two seasons at Dinamo Zagreb. He was Croatian Player of the Year after the 2006-07 season, and instrumental in winning the 2007-08 double in superior style. Fans liked to call him “the Croatian Cruyff” because of a resemblance in both looks and playing style with the legendary Johan Cruyff.
Tottenham signed Modrić ahead of the 2008-09 season for £16.5 million. After a few good matches in his playmaker role, manager Juande Ramos pulled him further back in a more holding midfielder kind of role which didn’t suit Modrić. He didn’t play to his capability and he was knocked about and picked up injuries. Tottenham had a disastrous start to the season and Ramos was eventually sacked. In came Harry Redknapp who immediately initiated Modrić into a more attacking influence. Tottenham’s improved results mirrored Modrić’s returned creativity in their attacking midfield. Modrić missed the first half of the 2009-10 season due to a broken leg. He returned to action in December and went on to be one of the key players for Tottenham finishing the season qualified for the Champions League. Several clubs were interested in getting Modrić’s signature, Manchester United in particular, but in May 2010 he signed a new six year contract with Spurs.
Internationally Modrić went up through Croatia’s youth ranks as a teenager. He made his senior debut at age 19 in March 2006. Modrić played in the 2006 FIFA World Championship and he was outstanding in Croatia’s qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. At the Euro 2008 he continued with some exceptional performances but ended disappointed when they lost their quarterfinal to Turkey on penalties. Croatia didn’t qualify for the 2010 World Cup but are currently second in their Euro 2012 qualifying group.

Danijel Pranjić is a left midfielder who plays for German side Bayern München and Croatia. Pranjić played for several Croatian sides, including Dinamo Zagreb, before moving to Dutch side Heerenveen in the 2005-06 season. While at Dinamo Zagreb he was picked for the Croatian national team. Pranjić finished the 2008-09 season winning the Dutch Cup with Herenveen before joining Bayern München. Pranjić played all games for Croatia in the 2008 UEFA European Championship.

Ivica Olić is a forward who plays for German side Bayern München and Croatia. Except for his first stint in the German Bundesliga playing for Hertha Berlin, Olić has had success as a prolific goal scorer wherever he has played. In Croatia he played for Marsonia, before and after Hertha Berlin, and for NK Zagreb and Dinamo Zagreb (winning the Croatian League with both those teams). He then played for CSKA Moscow, winning the Russian Premier League three times, the Russian Cup twice and the 2005 UEFA Cup. In January 2007 Olić joined German side Hamburger SV where he enjoyed another two strong seasons before moving to his current club Bayern München in January 2009. The following season he won the Bundesliga, the German Cup and Super Cup with Bayern München, in addition to reaching the Champions League final. The Croatian national team have also enjoyed his fast pace and high work rate. With the start of the Euro2012 qualifiers he has passed 70 caps for his country. Olić was also Croatian Player of the Year in 2009.

Niko Kranjčar is an attacking midfielder who plays for English side Tottenham and Croatia. Kranjčar developed as a youth playing for Dinamo Zagreb and made his senior debut already at the age of 16. He quickly became one of the team’s key players and helped them win two Croatian cups and the Croatian league. Because of a dispute with the club’s management Kranjčar left for rivals Hajduk Split in 2005. With Split he won another Croatian league title. Concurrently he delivered some impressive performances for his national team when qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Championship, followed by equally impressive displays at the Championship. At the time his father Zlatko Kranjčar was the Croatian coach.
In August 2006 he signed for English club Portsmouth and made his Premier Leage debut away at Tottenham. The following season he won the FA Cup with Portsmouth. During the 2008-09 season Kranjčar stated his desire wanting away from Portsmouth, for a club with bigger ambitions. There were rumours that AS Monaco, Arsenal and Everton were all interested, but on 1 September 2009 he joined Tottenham Hotspur. A deciding factor was that ex-Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was at the club, in addition to his fellow Croatians Luka Modrić and Vedran Ćorluka. Kranjčar went on to play a huge part in Tottenham’s top-4 finish that season, earning them entry into the Champions League. He was the one to step into the playmaker role when Luka Modrić was out injured. In the start of the 2010-11 season Kranjčar has found himself on the Spurs bench because of a very competitive midfield, while he scored three goals in two matches for Croatia. For the time being he intends to stay at Spurs to battle it out for a place in the team. In the January transfer window Spurs accepted a bid from Werder Bremen but Kranjčar chose not to leave. On February 5th he came on as a substitute to score the match-winning goal in a 2-1 win against Bolton. The following week he was the match-winner in a 2-1 away win against Sunderland.