By admin 
Newcastle United did not win in the San Siro this week, but the goalless draw with AC Milan heralded a comeback to the top of the European game after years of mediocrity.
Indeed, the Magpies had been out of the Champions League for over two decades before the PIF club takeover rewrote the story on Tyneside, with the subsequent choice of manager Eddie Howe proving to be a masterstroke of equal caliber.
While a brief trip to continental competition occurred in 2012, following Alan Pardew’s unforgettable 2011/22 campaign, with Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse wreaking havoc on hapless Premier League defenses, this proved to be a one-time occurrence, and the subsequent campaign was unsuccessful, finishing 16th.
The Magpies would be relegated before returning to the upper echelons of the English top division, but the club is now prepared for a long-term position among Europe’s best, boasting luxury and diligence to guarantee the advancements continue.
However, it could have all been so different had Luka Modric not signed for the Toon back in the day before choosing Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur instead.
If the Croatian midfielder had made the switch, years of mediocrity could have been replaced with a consistent place in and around European contention.
Newcastle almost signed Luka Modric.
According to former Magpies manager Sam Allardyce, he was seeking to sign Modric from his hometown club Dinamo Zagreb before loathed owner Mike Ashley pulled the plug in 2008, citing financial problems.
“I was then on my way to get Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb, but by then, Mike saw the scale of the full picture,” he explained.
Modric would have been a game-changer for the club, preventing relegation in 2008 and infusing confidence and quality throughout the squad.Tottenham eventually won the hunt for the highly rated talent, beating off Newcastle, Arsenal, and Chelsea for his signature and completing a £15 million transfer in the summer of 2008.
How effective was Luka Modric at Tottenham?
Modric is now a household name and one of Europe’s top midfielders, but when Spurs signed him, he was an unknown, albeit gifted, commodity.
Across four seasons, the ace would make 160 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring 17 goals and providing 25 assists, making him indispensable to his team and acclaimed by Manchester United.