Plenty has been said by now about Modric's pedigree, but he is an attacking central midfielder, who plays for his country and has scored 17 goals for his club over the last 12 months. 7 of those goals have been penalties. In previous seasons, Modric has been less prolific, but his goal-scoring ratio for a midfielder is good, although not in the class of Ronaldo! Modric will not be 23 until September.

I began to think that the acquisition of Modric will be the first of several early summer signings, with part of the agenda being to perhaps convince Dimitar Berbatov to stay. Not a lot of people are aware of this, but one of Tottenham's problems is a recent clause from UEFA that means Berbatov will legitimately be able to buy himself out of the remainder of his contract next year, having served three years, although he would not be able to go to another English club under those terms.

If Spurs cannot convince Berbs (and his vocal agent of course!)to sign a fresh contract, then they may feel obliged to take as much money as they can get for his transfer this summer.

Spurs Odyssey has for a considerable time been privy to various rumours regarding potential targets, and the names currently being suggested as targets are left winger Diego Capel, who plays for Ramos's former club Sevilla. Capel is a diminutive figure, like Aaron Lennon, but has scored 6 goals for club and country (Spain under-21s) this season.

25 year old centre back Daniel Jarque is once again on the agenda, and continues to be a stalwart for Espanyol, where he has previously been managed by Juande Ramos.

Goalkeepers are of course on the agenda and Spurs might sign Espanyol's Cameroon International, Idris Kameni and/or Italian Marco Amelia, who we were linked with in January.

There are sure to be other signings for the future, but the most important for the present will be a midfield enforcer - could another one of Ramos's former players Christian Poulsen be up for grabs? Poulsen has one more year on his contract, and Sevilla may want to cash in. Whether Poulsen still has the sort of quality that Spurs need might be up for debate too, as he has not been a 90 minute man for Sevilla recently.

It should be no surprise to see the following names mentioned as those likely to depart this summer- Rocha, Gardner (out on loan at Everton anyway), Young-Pyo Lee, Ghaly, and Stalteri. Three of those are on loan, and Rocha and Lee don't get games any more.The sale of Paul Robinson, Pascal Chimbonda, and even Younes Kaboul and Tainio should also not cause raised eyebrows, as Ramos has now got a clear idea of who he wants and who he will let go. I also understand that the unfortunate Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who played only two games this season, will be sold.

All in all, it looks as if it will be an exciting summer for Spurs fans, with a few new arrivals. We must hope that they are of a quality that will persuade Berbatov to not only stay, but to sign a fresh contract to finally put an end to his agent's regular rants about possible departure.

Come what may, with Modric on hand to create, and a top-notch "enforcer", Spurs ought to be a more powerful and productive unit, whoever is in front of the providers next season.