YOUR best player is being wooed by a ruthless rival club.
He wants a pay rise. He wants big trophies. He claims promises have been broken.
Harry Redknapp has been there and done that with Luka Modric.
Now, Alexander Isak is at war with Newcastle as he tries to force a move to champions Liverpool.
In the summer of 2011, Modric wanted Chelsea — only to end up staying at Tottenham for another year.
Many in the Toon Army will hope the Isak saga has the same ending — but the stars have behaved differently.
And Redknapp is not the only one who thinks it is inevitable Isak will end up at Anfield by September 1.
But 14 summers ago, it felt certain Modric was off to Stamford Bridge.
In his third season, Spurs finished fifth, six points off Champions League qualification.
Chelsea, who came second, had just appointed Andre Villas-Boas as boss and sensed an opportunity.
Modric later revealed in his autobiography, he was on a speedboat with his management team heading for the yacht of Blues owner Roman Abramovich.
Modric wrote: “‘Do you think Tottenham will resist your transfer? Are they going to put up a fight?’ Abramovich asked.
“‘I think the negotiations are going to be tough,’ I replied because I knew the clubs were not on good terms.”
Redknapp, 78, joked: “I didn’t know about the yacht thing at the time.
“I’d have asked if could if I could have a week on it, too!”
Modric’s fears proved well-founded. Chelsea offered £22million. Spurs supremo Daniel Levy said no. The Blues came back with £27m. No deal.
Modric’s problem was that he had signed a new six-year contract 12 months earlier.
So, like Isak, he went public with his desire to leave.
Modric cited Chelsea’s ability to compete for the Champions League and Premier League and said he had a “gentleman’s agreement” with Levy that he could leave for a “big club”.
Shades of Isak there, but Modric took a less aggressive approach.
The Croatian added: “I don’t want to fight and argue with Tottenham. I want to go in a good way, a friendly way so I can stay friends with them.
“I love them and they love me but that’s the way it is and I have to think what is best for my career.”
Although Redknapp was disappointed, he could see Modric’s point of view. Redknapp said: “He wasn’t earning anywhere near what average players at other clubs were getting.
Harry Redknapp on Luka Mordric
“He had a chance to play Champions League and double his money. I couldn’t sit there and go, ‘It’s wrong.’
“I loved my time at Portsmouth, but I left and went to Tottenham. That’s football.”
The tug-of-war over Modric went on through the summer.
But Modric was on the plane for Spurs’ pre-season trip to South Africa.
Unlike Isak, who missed Newcastle’s tour of the Far East because of an alleged injury as rumours of Liverpool’s intentions grew.
Modric remained professional for most of the summer but asked to be left out of the season opener against Manchester United, saying his “head was not in the right place”.
He also requested to miss the next match, at home to Manchester City.
But Redknapp persuaded him to play in what turned out to be a 5-1 defeat and what Modric called “one of my worst performances”.
Chelsea made a £40m bid on deadline day, but Levy stood firm.
Redknapp said: “I told Luka I understood, but said, ‘Come on, let’s have another year, I think we can do something good’.”
“Luka could have easily thrown the toys out the pram and said, ‘I’m not playing, I’m not training, I’m injured’.
“But he is an incredible person as well as an incredible player.
“That’s probably why he’s still at the top level now, at nearly 40.”
Redknapp made Modric captain and he had an excellent season for Spurs.
He earned their player of the season award despite the previous summer’s intrigue.
Redknapp’s side finished fourth in the Premier League and would normally have qualified for the Champions League.
But Chelsea, having ended up sixth after another tumultuous campaign, became European champions for the first time under caretaker boss Roberto di Matteo . . . and so snatched Spurs’ place off them by virtue of being the holders.
Redknapp left Spurs soon afterwards — and urged Sir Alex Ferguson to buy Modric for Manchester United.
He recalled: “What’s funny is that the Chelsea manager who had been ringing Luka all the time, Andre Villas-Boas, ended up replacing me at Tottenham.
If he plays and scores a goal, there will be 50,000 Geordies singing his name.”
Harry Rednkapp on Alexander Isak
“Sir Alex spoke to me about Luka and I said, ‘Take him, take him, he’s fantastic’. But Luka ended up going to Real Madrid.
“And that didn’t turn out too bad for him, did it?”
Real paid £30m for Modric, £10m below Chelsea’s final bid of the previous summer.
But Spurs had refused to be bullied by the Blues and got one more season out of their midfield maestro.
So, if Isak does not get his move to Liverpool, could he win back his Newcastle team-mates and the fans?
Redknapp said: “If he plays and scores a goal, there will be 50,000 Geordies singing his name. The game has been like that forever.
“As long as you’re winning, fans soon forget. That’s how stupid it all is, really.”
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