• Modric: I have no interest in going anywhere else
• Six-year deal ties midfielder to Tottenham until 2016

The Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has signed a new six-year contract which ties him to Tottenham Hotspur until 2016.

The 24-year-old arrived from Dynamo Zagreb in the summer of 2008 on a five-year deal and, although the transfer fee was £16.6m, his weekly wage did not put him in Tottenham’s top bracket of earners. He had recently been linked with a lucrative move to Manchester United or Chelsea after his impressive form for the north London club over the past two seasons.

Modric has been described by the Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, as the squad’s one world-class talent. He was instrumental in Tottenham finishing in fourth place and reaching the Champions League qualifying stages for the first time.

A few days after Spurs achieved that goal, he married his girlfriend, Vanja. The couple are said to be happy in London and are expecting their first child. After committed his long-term future to Tottenham, Modric said he had “no interest in going anywhere else”.

Tottenham HotspurTransfer windowguardian.co.uk

• Recurrence of injury threatens World Cup hopes
• Prognosis not likely for another week

Aaron Lennon has suffered a further setback to his hopes of being selected by the England head coach, Fabio Capello, for this summer’s World Cup.

The winger, who has not played since Tottenham Hotspur defeated West Ham 2-0 in December, has had a recurrence of a groin injury. His club will now seek further specialist advice on how best to rehabilitate the injury following yesterday’s MRI scan and an ultrasound scan today.

“He will just have to rest for another week until they decide he can go outside and do a bit of work again,” said Harry Redknapp. “How long that’s going to be I wouldn’t like to say. We miss him, obviously, but everybody’s had that.

“Everton have had their long-term injuries, Ashley Cole, Arsenal with [Robin] van Persie, you get players who get injuries and he’s a key player for us but we’re lucky that David [Bentley] has come in and done so well.”

Asked whether the 22-year-old was thinking of the World Cup, the Spurs manager said: “I just think Aaron wants to get [back], that’s all he’s thinking about. It’s an exciting time for Tottenham, we’re pushing for the top four, we’re still in the FA Cup and he’s missing out on that. I think that’s the key to it.”

Spurs host Bolton in an FA Cup fifth-round replay tomorrow, after the 1-1 draw 10 days ago. Tom Huddlestone missed a penalty in that game, making it a total of four unconverted this season for Spurs. Asked who would take penalties if tomorrow’s tie is level after extra-time, Redknapp said: “It depends on the team. Niko [Kranjcar] was going to take them [on] Sunday. We’ll have to wait and see. If someone’s having a terrible game, a nightmare, he may decide he doesn’t want to take the penalty. And someone else who is confident – Tom was confident when he took it at Bolton. I thought he was a cert, he’s a fantastic striker of the ball, and he’d taken six before and never missed one.”

Redknapp hailed the form of Roman Pavlyuchenko, who scored twice in Spurs’ 3-0 victory at Wigan. He added: “I just pick him on what I see him do every day in training, his attitude and that decides whether he plays. He was terrific last week.”

Tottenham HotspurPremier LeagueEnglandJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk