Won't one day go by where I don't have to break out the Big Book O'Stats to show someone how wrong they are?
Eriksen has potential to be near his level, what has Modric done that's really 'special' to make him worth 40m? Come on? How many assists has he got? Not much. Good passer but not a 40m player.
Except Modric has played 23 of his 31 appearances as a deep-lying central midfielder, and a a further five or so in withdrawn wing positions. These are not positions in which you assist from.
However, he has a 88% pass success rating, which is all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that he's attempted 277 long balls this season. This tell us that he's not doing a John Obi Mikel-style ball retention job: he's actively trying to move the ball forward into good positions. Of those 277 long balls, 232 were successful, which tells us he's got excellent decision making skills. He also plays over 68 passes per game, on average, which means he's both comfortable with dictating play and, in conjunction with the facts we're already gone over, very good at it. He's also good at dribbling out of tight spots, making about one and a half successful dribbles per game, and his tricky feet win fouls at about the same rate.
The final nail in the ridiculous 'he's **** 'cause he gets no assists' coffin? Luka Modric plays 2.7 key passes per game on average. Key passes are arguably far more effective than assists as a measure of a footballer's creative worth, as though they may be subjective, they record passes that may not necessarily involve goals. For example, if Modric beats three players and lofts a wonderful defence-splitting pass that Aaron Lennon blazes into the heavens, he gets no assist. He does, however, get a key pass, and thus it is less tainted by the team's inability to score or other such factors. So yes, he gets 2.7 key passes on average, per game.
You know, more than twice as good as Scholes' record for this season, and slightly better than Xavi's.