
<p>In a surprising twist, Luka Modric might find an unexpected opportunity away from Real Madrid in January.</p>



<p>The 37-year-old has been a prominent figure for Real Madrid since his transfer from Tottenham. His time with Los Blancos has yielded many trophies. There is no denying that he is one of the finest central midfielders of his generation. Nevertheless, this season, he appears to have slipped down the hierarchy.</p>



<p><a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/creating-a-dream-team-of-soccer-players-from-yugoslavia-20230726-WST-443825.html">Modric</a>, while not a youngster, remains a top-class central midfielder. However, Los Blancos already started planning for a future without him. Consequently, that opens doors to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/luka-modric-hints-at-january-exit-amid-playing-time-struggles-20231013-WST-462071.html">rumors of his potential departure</a>.</p>



<h5>Young core saw veterans being pushed out</h5>



<p>Carlo Ancelotti’s side shifted its strategy away from relying on veteran players. Instead, Real Madrid made investments in a range of promising young central midfielders. In a notable move, they secured the services of <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/fan-favorite-bellingham-makes-committment-to-madrid-future-20231018-WST-462987.html">Jude Bellingham</a> from Borussia Dortmund during the summer.</p>



<p>Since he arrived at the Whites outfit, the England international has truly excelled, displaying remarkable consistency in scoring goals. The 20-year-old has also proved instrumental in creating goalscoring chances for his teammates.</p>



<p>Conversely, players like Modric and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/guardiola-planning-blockbuster-move-for-real-madrid-midfielder-20231014-WST-462278.html">Kroos</a> have experienced a significant reduction in their playing time. It is nearly half of what they played in the previous season. Both players are keen on maintaining prominent roles within the team and have no desire to settle for reserve status.</p>



<h2>Modric could make return to Premier League, not North London</h2>



<p>While Modric is in the twilight of his career, leaving the Spanish capital could offer the former Spurs star more playing opportunities. More intriguing is the fact that he is suddenly connected to a return to the Premier League after previously being linked to the MLS and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/last-dance-club-chief-to-reach-out-to-luka-modric-in-january-20230917-WST-456758.html">his own country</a>.</p>



<p>As reported by Eduardo Inda, the chief pundit at <a href="https://okdiario.com/diariomadridista/real-madrid/manchester-united-piensa-modric-enero-367131" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ok Diario</a>, during his appearance on El Chiringuito, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a> expressed interest in securing the services of the Real Madrid veteran in the January transfer window.</p>



<p>Inda explained that Modric’s future is uncertain, and there is interest from several teams, including the Old Trafford team. The main concern is that United are currently at the bottom of their <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-uefa-champions-league-and-europa-league-on-us-tv-and-internet/">UEFA Champions League</a> group, which makes it unlikely for them to participate in the competition after the turn of the year.</p>



<p>Despite this, Erik ten Hag is exploring the possibility of signing Modric in January. The Spanish journalist also adds that the player is eager to play and has expressed frustration over his lack of competitive playing time.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO &amp; NurPhoto</em></p>


Modric eyes shock Premier League return amid MLS, other links

Following reports of the potential departure of Luka Modric from Madrid, a Premier League team has been identified as a possible destination.


<p>There was always going to be a natural drop in Luka Modric’s playing time as he turned 38 in early September.</p>



<p>There is a generational shift occurring at <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/real-madrid-tv-schedule/">Real Madrid</a> as the older players make way for the younger ones. This has resulted in regular minutes for players like <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/jude-bellingham-to-help-real-madrid-with-non-eu-spot-problem-20230729-WST-446400.html">Jude Bellingham</a>, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, and Aurelien Tchouameni in the center of the field.</p>



<p>The opposite is true for veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who both receive far less field time than they used to. Thus, concerns have been raised regarding their future, which is to be expected.</p>



<p>It has been challenging for the former, although the latter is still contributing significantly. The Croatian’s playing time has been slowly decreasing since he started practically every game in 2020-21. While he was a key cog in Madrid’s Champions League championship season in the next term, his <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-la-liga-on-us-tv-and-internet/">La Liga</a> action was restricted to only 25 starts.</p>



<h2>What did Modric say about current situation?</h2>



<p>The previous campaign was a far more tense one than the one before. In the Spanish Primera Division, the renowned midfielder only made 19 appearances, but he was a sure starter in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/where-to-watch-uefa-champions-league-and-europa-league-on-us-tv-and-internet/">UEFA Champions League</a>.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-twitter"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🇭🇷 Luka Modrić: "Real Madrid? Oh well, it&apos;s certainly a new situation for me not to play as much as before and as much as I&apos;d like”.<br><br>“You know I always want to play, I don&apos;t want to have breaks, I don&apos;t want to have vacations, I just want to play! I love it”. <a href="https://t.co/awAkTwQc0T">pic.twitter.com/awAkTwQc0T</a></p>— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) <a href="https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1712179482184859664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2023</a></blockquote></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>Speaking out about his playing time woes in the Spanish capital, Luka Modric stated how unfamiliar his role felt.</p>



<p>“It’s certainly a new situation for me not to play as much as before and as much as I’d like. You know I always want to play, I don’t want to have breaks, I don’t want to have vacations, I just want to play! I love it.”</p>



<p>Modric said he feels healthy enough to play regularly in Real Madrid’s busy schedule.</p>



<p>“I don’t want to be out… I just want to play, if necessary, every three days, because I feel physically well. Everything that happens around me is a normal process, so I simply accept it like that. I have to mentally prepare for this situation. Accept and move on.”</p>



<h5>What did Modric say about possible January exit?</h5>



<p>Occasionally, the former Ballon d’Or winner has now been an inactive bench option. As a result, he has connections to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/last-dance-club-chief-to-reach-out-to-luka-modric-in-january-20230917-WST-456758.html">a number of rumored January transfers</a>.</p>



<p>“I wouldn’t want to get into that right now,” he was quoted as telling&nbsp;<a href="https://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/rubrika/hrvatska-reprezentacija/luka-modric-otkrio-da-je-slucajno-susreo-davida-beckhama---806949.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dnevnik</a>. “There’s still a long time to go until the winter and the end of the year, at my age it’s hard to predict anything in the long term. We have to go from game to game and we’ll see what the future will bring.”</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / NurPhoto</em></p>


Luka Modric hints at January exit amid playing time struggles

Luka Modric has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with his new supporting position and limited playing time.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Modric"

Leagues: EPL

Modric eyes shock Premier League return amid MLS, other links

Leagues: LaLiga

Luka Modric hints at January exit amid playing time struggles