Chelsea FC Transfer Rumours: Yossi Benayoun As Luka Modric Makeweight?

Yeah, it's been a bit too long since a Luka Modric rumour, hasn't it? According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea are still chasing after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric and now have submitted an amazing new offer of something like £27M plus Yossi Benayoun to acquire him.

Apparently this move is good for Chelsea because pfft, they don't need Benayoun anyway and Luka Modric is good. And it's good for Spurs because Yossi Benayoun can totally replace Modric. I may be paraphasing that argument, but it sure seems a little silly to me.

What happens for Chelsea if they get Modric for cash plus Benayoun? They're left with four midfielders best suited to playing deep (Josh McEachran, Modric, John Obi Mikel and Oriol Romeu), one box-to-box player in Ramires and one advanced midfielder in Frank Lampard. And for Spurs? They get a player who plays in the same position as Rafael van der Vaart. Oh.

When you look at a transfer rumour, it's always best to ask a simple question (and this goes double if you're a professional journalist): Does this make sense? If it makes sense for one side but not the other, that's fine - one might imagine that that's how negotiations start. If it makes sense for both, something's cooking. But if it makes sense for neither side... well, that's when eyebrows should start being raised, no?

Chelsea need Yossi Benayoun, even if they acquire Luka Modric. That's a depressing thought, but as best I can tell it's fairly accurate. Tottenham do not need Yossi Benayoun, even should they lose Luka Modric. Why, then, would he be departing Stamford Bridge as a makeweight? Answer: He probably isn't.