Chelsea skipper a big fan of Modric

CHELSEA captain John Terry has lauded Luka Modric as a “world-class player” and said he would be welcomed at Stamford Bridge with open arms.

The Tottenham midfielder has been the subject of fevered speculation this summer linking him with a move away from north London.

Such talk was fuelled further by the player himself after Modric, who has five years left on his contract with Spurs, admitted he would like to leave White Hart Lane for pastures new, preferably Stamford Bridge.

While Terry was not keen to comment on the speculation, he admits the Croatia international’s addition would be a great boost to Andre Villas-Boas’ squad.

“He’s a world-class player who is very difficult to play against,” he said. “He’s very agile, very quick and a great finisher like we’ve seen over many years.

“I know there are problems. It’s probably a little bit disrespectful towards Spurs... [to talk about the situation]. He has his own problems at the moment.

“We’ve got a good squad of players. If he comes he could certainly add to that.”

Terry was speaking during Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Asia, where they will take on a Malaysian All-Star XI tomorrow before taking part in a similar match in Thailand three days later.

The west Londoners played their first official pre-season friendly on Saturday, where former Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim’s own goal handed Villas-Boas’ side a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth.

Fernando Torres’ cross forced the Israel international to head into his own net and Terry believes the £50m striker will be at his best next season after a poor start to life in the English capital.

“He backs himself,” he said. “He realises from the World Cup he had a slight injury and carried that towards the end of last season.

“He feels fresh, he’s happy. He’s fully settled. I’m certainly looking for him to get double figures goals wise.

“He was still good at times last year. He’s a world-class player.

“He’s got all the ability in the world. He’s very quick and a great finisher”.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are close to completing the signing of young Genk goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Courtois’ move from the Belgian champions is expected to be completed shortly, the player undergoing a medical yesterday.

However, the 19-year-old revealed he may likely be allowed out on loan, probably to Spanish side Atletico Madrid, so he can gain first-team experience before rejoining the first team squad.

A strong Tottenham side, captained by want-away midfielder Luka Modric, drew their pre-season friendly against Orlando Pirates 1-1 in South Africa last night.