Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admits he's delighted they kept Luka Modric away from his move to Chelsea.
Modric was impressive at Wolves last week.
"In not selling Luka, chairman Daniel Levy made a statement, I think, that big clubs can't just call up Tottenham and buy who they want," Redknapp told the Mail on Sunday.
"It was a hard pre-season. We had a lot of players who didn't want to be here, like Alan Hutton, Peter Crouch, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Wilson Palacios, as they couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. Then Luka wanted to leave for Chelsea.
"I told the chairman that there was a mood around the place that I didn't like. There's nothing worse than having two or three you don't want to see in the morning, it makes your job difficult, doesn't it?
"But I understood the position of the lads who have gone. Luka, though, is a boy I look forward to seeing every day. All right, he didn't want to play against Manchester United at the start of the season, but I think maybe others were controlling him.
"Yet he was never a disruptive influence; he trained hard every day, and there's nothing cocky or nasty about him. He's just a fantastic footballer, a massive influence for us; and you never have to worry where he is on a Saturday night after a game. I believe the chairman plans, quite soon, to sit down and discuss a new contract with Luka."
