Croatian international midfield maestro Luka Modric spent four years with us following a 2008 transfer from Dinamo Zagreb, where he’d won three back-to-back league titles in his homeland.
A metronome in the middle, often dictating the tempo of the play thanks to his flair, creativity and – despite his small frame – physical strength, he had his ups and downs in a Spurs shirt in his early days at White Hart Lane but really came into his own when given more freedom to play centrally by Harry Redknapp.
He suffered a bad leg injury in August, 2009, that kept him out for a few months but he returned to feature regularly during the second half of that campaign as we secured qualification for the Champions League for the first time via a fourth-place finish in the Premier League.