Former Ipswich and Charlton favourite hails Chelsea & Man Utd target

Former Ipswich and Charlton favourite Matt Holland believes that Tottenham star Luka Modric pulled the strings for Croatia in their 3-1 win over the Republic of Ireland.

The midfielder has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester United and the former Republic of Ireland international hailed him after the game.

“We have to acknowledge that Croatia were the better team,” Holland told talkSPORT. “Their front two, Mandzukic and Jelavic combined brilliantly.

“They looked a threat in the air, their movement was very good and Modric was excellent in midfield. He controlled the tempo of the game.

“In the first half there was a spell where we really pressed them and [Modric] wasn’t getting a lot of the ball so he went a lot deeper and it kept him away from our goal where he can cause the most danger.

“But in the second half he strolled through it and he was excellent.”