Luka Modric has alerted Chelsea and Manchester United that he may be open to a move away from Tottenham Hotspur when the January transfer window opens on Sunday after admitting that "everything is possible".
Tottenham are third in the Premier League with a game in hand that would allow the north London club to close the gap to four points to United and Manchester City as they mount a challenge for a Champions League place next season.
This position would leave Harry Redknapp, the manager, confident of keeping Modric should Spurs receive any bids after he came close to leaving for Chelsea last summer due to his stated wish to play in Europe's premier club competition.
The Croatia midfielder, whose hopes of joining Chelsea in a £27m deal were blocked by Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, has also been linked with Manchester United and is yet to sign the contract extension offered in September.
Asked about the ongoing speculation, Modric told Sportske Novosti: "All this talk is just in the press – I don't know anything about any of these supposed offers. We are doing our best to ensure Tottenham get the results the fans and the club demand. Given the current situation, and particularly given the fact I don't want a repeat of what I went through during the summer transfer window, I can say with almost 100% certainty that I'll be staying at Tottenham until the end of the season.
"I would always say that, theoretically, there is a small chance I could leave, if the club receive a suitable offer and it's one I wouldn't want to turn down, but the reality is that I expect to stay at Spurs until June, and then we will see.
"Everything is possible, but it's not something I'm concerning myself with. So long as I am fit and playing well, I'm happy just to see what happens. If I stay at Tottenham, nothing will change. I will give my all in every game."
In June Spurs rejected an initial £22m bid from Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, only for Modric publicly to inform Spurs that he believed they did not match his ambitions. He said then: "I would like to go to Chelsea. A lot of players would like to go there and play for Chelsea because it is one of the best clubs in the world, and so do I. I would like to play there. But we will see what will happen.
Yet as Chelsea have struggled this season and are only one point ahead of Arsenal in the race for the last Champions League place, United may now be the only club who could persuade the 26-year-old to leave White Hart Lane.
With Gareth Bale also attracting renewed attention following his two goals in the win at Norwich City on Tuesday Redknapp will be conscious of the need to keep hold of his core of best performers who also include Rafael van der Vaart, Scott Parker and the on-loan Emmanuel Adebayor.
Tottenham travel to Swansea City on Saturday before hosting West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, and Redknapp said: "We've got tough games coming, Swansea, West Brom, Wolves[on 14 January], all scrapping for their lives. We've just got to keep picking up points."
