There’s been more than a few articles lately about Chelsea persistently courting Tottenham creative midfielder Luka Modric. Chelsea has tried and tried, going from a £22m opening bid to the latest, a £30m bid, or £27m plus Yossi Benayoun. Tottenham seems that they don’t want Modric to leave. However, manager Harry Redknapp gave a massive clue Wednesday night that a deal may happen to sell Modric to Chelsea when the Spurs manager talked about how he could sign four players with the money the club would receive for the Croatian midfielder.

But shouldn’t Chelsea be actively looking at other options? More specifically, shouldn’t Chelsea really take a look at Samir Nasri?

Here’s what we’ve been told about Samir Nasri and Arsenal: Nasri’s in the last year of his deal, he’s hinted at not re-signing, by turning down Arsenal’s £90,000 a week deal he seems to want out now and clubs like Manchester City are making offers. Arsene Wenger, fresh off of getting money from the Fabregas deal could either pay Nasri or sell him and really re-build the club with new talents.

Chelsea on the other hand really really wants a creative midfielder who can thread the ball to Fernando Torres, or any of the hundreds of strikers on staff. Modric is a very good choice for this, but the money being offered to get him is getting a bit out of hand. Nasri, while not a steep discount is a cheaper value and it seems at the very least more profitable to get a guy like Nasri with a similar skill set as Modric at a cheaper price.

I’m sure i’ll get a bit hammered in the comments for comparing the two players, but the reality is that Chelsea needs midfielders and they have to get someone to bridge the gap between the eventual decline of Frank Lampard and the hopeful rise of Josh McEachran. With Michael Essien out until at least the start of 2012, the club needs some depth and if they’re going to go out and purchase someone, they may as well throw money at Nasri rather than wait until January when it’s mid-season and the EPL begins to take shape.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas somewhat batted down everything I just said in his post game interview last weekend, mentioning that guys like Nasri are in a contract year but also being quoted as saying, “Not that I’m interested, but you have Samir Nasri terminating contract. He’s one of the most exciting players in the Premier League and that’s the reality, as well as Luka, as well as other players.”

That quote could either be read as straight truth, or it could be read that Villas-Boas is testing the waters. Regardless, one club wants a midfielder, two clubs have midfielders that want out and we’re only weeks away from seeing how it will all pan out.