Tottenham Suffer Blow as Croatia Star's World Cup Performances Drive Up Summer Asking Price
Croatia's performances at the World Cup could hamper Tottenham's attempts to sign Ante Rebic, whose value is increasing as he and his nation excel in Russia.
It was reported earlier this week that Spurs and Huddersfield were both in contention to sign Rebic, who had been valued at €30m.
Tottenham were interested in Rebic as far back as 2013, when he was playing in his native Croatia, but he eventually moved to Fiorentina. He spent most of his time out on loan at various clubs, including a two-year loan at Frankfurt.
The German Cup winners activated the option to sign Rebic permanently earlier this summer but there had been rumours that he could leave immediately amid interest from the Premier League.
However, Bild reported that after "internal discussions", Frankfurt had opted to raise Rebic's asking price to €40m - and that was before his country reached the last 16 of the World Cup.
Rebic scored the first of Croatia's three goals against Argentina, seizing on a terrible mistake from Willy Caballero to break the deadlock. One goal at the World Cup can apparently make all the difference to a player's price tag.
Elsa/GettyImages
“Of course he has gained value through the cup and now value through the World Cup, he is now in focus for the big clubs," Frankfurt general manager Bruno Hubner told Bild.
Bild speculates that Rebic's value may have risen as high as €60m, which will almost certainly be the end of any interest Spurs have in the player.
It's a steep price, but seeing as Rebic scored the goals that won Frankfurt their first major trophy in three decades, it is understandable that they want to keep hold of him.
