West Brom massively missed out as Spurs secured generational star: View | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion and many other teams in the EFL will be able to look back on transfers that didn’t occur and think about what could have been.

In West Brom’s case, it could have been a very big what-if, if they had secured the signing of midfielder Luka Modric back in 2007.

West Brom nearly signed Luka Modric in 2007

West Brom have signed many players down the years, but if you had offered the fans the chance to see Luka Modric in an Albion shirt, they would have happily swapped all the past players to see that happen.

Well, it has recently been revealed that the Baggies, in fact, did come close to signing Modric in 2007, when the club was managed by Tony Mowbray.

The hierarchy of Jeremy Pearce and Mark Jenkins had developed a relationship with Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, the team that Modric was playing for.

Therefore, it meant West Brom had a good chance of securing a deal for the midfielder, who was unknown at the time.

Mowbray was also a huge admirer of the player at the time, but any chances the club had of securing the deal hinged on the club being promoted from the Championship.

Unfortunately for West Brom, that didn’t happen, as the club fell at the final hurdle to Derby County and had to wait another year before they played top-flight football.

But by that time, it was too late, as in 2008, Tottenham Hotspur and Juande Ramos splashed out £17 million to sign Modric from Zagreb.

As just revealed, West Brom missing out on promotion in 2007 not only meant they had to play Championship football again, but they also missed out on securing a deal for Luka Modric.

Now, at the time, that may not have been as disappointed as you would expect, as the people at The Hawthorns may not have thought he was going to become as good as he is.

However, sadly for Albion, 17 years later, Modric has arguably been one of the best midfielders in the world, winning the Champions League and La Liga titles as well as helping his country reach the World Cup semi-finals.

West Brom’s miss was Spurs’ gain, as the London side secured a deal for Modric, which was said to be worth £17 million, and at today’s market prices, that is a bargain for what turned out to be a world-class signing.

The Croatian international slotted into the Tottenham team straight away, as he played 34 times in the top flight in his first season, scoring three goals and chipping in with nine assists.

That 2008/09 season was his best for numbers, but he was exceptional in his four seasons at the club, as his impressive performances earned him the chance to go and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid.

In the recent European Championships in 2021, despite getting on in age, Modric showed exactly what he could have brought to West Brom if a deal occurred.

In the four matches he played, Modric scored one goal, which saw him outperform his xG of 0.11, while the midfielder also took 0.8 shots per game, with 0.5 of them being on target, as per Sofascore.com.

Furthermore, Modric had an impressive 82.5 touches of the ball and had an 88% pass accuracy per game, which helped him collect 1.8 key passes and create two big chances - he also finished the tournament with an impressive Sofascore rating of 7.33.

There are many teams up and down the football league that will say, What if we did this or if we secured this player?

But deep down, West Brom and Tony Mowbray will be wondering what could have been if in 2007 they secured promotion to the Premier League, as they could have potentially had Modric playing at their club, who would then go on to become one of the best midfielders in football.