Former Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric believes his old club are ‘very close’ to winning the Premier League title.

The Croatian star spent four years at White Hart Lane before joining Real Madrid in a £30million deal in 2012, as was part of Harry Redknapp’s side that reached the Champions League quarter-finals in the 2010-11 campaign.

Tottenham find themselves in second place in the table going into Sunday’s clash at Manchester City, five points behind leaders Leicester City who themselves face Arsenal at the Emirates.

Modric admits he’s been impressed with Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season, and insists his club has what it takes to win their first league title in 55 years.

“I follow them a lot. Almost whenever I can, I watch them playing,” he told the BBC.

“They're playing really well, amazing, they have a good coach and they are very close to winning the league.

“And I wish them all the best and cross fingers for them to win it because I think they are capable of [doing it] because they are playing really good football.”

Reflecting on his time at the club, he added: “I had four great years in Tottenham and I enjoyed my time there.

In Pictures: Man City vs Tottenham - the title race so far 13 show all In Pictures: Man City vs Tottenham - the title race so far 1/13 Title battle Standard Sport looks at how Spurs and Man City have become title contenders... 2/13 Hey big spenders Man City spent over a combined £100 million in transfers fees alone on Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne last summer, signalling their intent to take the Premier League by storm. 3/13 City stunned by Spurs City started the season brightly but were beaten twice in the league in September, with Harry Kane netting for Spurs in a damaging 4-1 White Hart Lane victory to expose problems in Manuel Pellegrini's defence. 4/13 Poch playing it cool Spurs' recent rise has been driven by Mauricio Pochettino, who is giving his young players confidence and time to express themselves while also demanding a strong work ethic in closing opponents down - a potent combination. 2016 Getty Images 5/13 Kompany woe City have looked short of a leader at times, and that is down to Vincent Kompany's repeated injury problems. The centre-back just can't stay fit, with the expensive Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi flattering to deceive in the Belgian's absence. 2015 Getty Images 6/13 Awesome Alderweireld A lack of centre-back leadership has not been a problem for Spurs - they beat Southampton to Toby Alderweireld last summer, and the transfer battle has been worth it. Combative off the ball as well as a real danger on it with long passes from the back, Pochettino has one of the league's best defenders on his hands. 2016 Getty Images 7/13 Will the real Yaya please stand up? With Kompany missing for long stretches, Yay Toure has been handed the chance to lead from midfield. Unfortunately for City, the veteran veers wildly between majestic displays and disappearing acts - too wildly for a player of his experience and responsibility within the squad - and he could well be off this summer. 2016 Getty Images 8/13 Spurs Del-ight At the other end of the spectrum, Dele Alli has burst through for Spurs and, rather than looking like a future star, already appears to be there. The 19-year-old was playing League One football last season, but is already a shoo-in for England's Euro 2016 squad and may well have scored the goal of the season against Palace. 2016 Getty Images 9/13 Aguero's injury curse The accompanying picture sums up Sergio Aguero's season so far, with the striker pulling up injured just after scoring. The Argentine has 14 goals in the league this term, but City - and Pellegrini in particular - must wonder just how good he could be if he could stay fit regularly. 10/13 Hurri-Kane Harry Kane has kept up his goal-scoring form to shut down any talk he was a one-season wonder, and with Spurs dismissing any notion of selling the young forward in a big-money move this summer, the England international is leading the line with confidence. 11/13 Whipping boys City's main problem is that for all their talent, they themselves can also be beaten easily on any given day. Their back line and midfield wilt under pressure, which could well play into Spurs' hands on Sunday. Still, Pellegrini's side have more than enough attacking prowess to trouble their visitors. 2015 Liverpool FC 12/13 Pep Talk It's impossible to ignore the effect that speculation regarding Pellegrini's future has had on City. The club have finally announced Pep Guardiola will replace the Chilean this summer, though it remains to be seen how City's squad will react to a demanding run-in with a lame duck in charge. 2014 Getty Images 13/13 Coaches collide With one coach on the up and the other on the way out, it promises to be a fascinating battle of styles at the Etihad - can Spurs contain City's talented forwards and exploit their defensive frailties? 1/13 Title battle Standard Sport looks at how Spurs and Man City have become title contenders... 2/13 Hey big spenders Man City spent over a combined £100 million in transfers fees alone on Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne last summer, signalling their intent to take the Premier League by storm. 3/13 City stunned by Spurs City started the season brightly but were beaten twice in the league in September, with Harry Kane netting for Spurs in a damaging 4-1 White Hart Lane victory to expose problems in Manuel Pellegrini's defence. 4/13 Poch playing it cool Spurs' recent rise has been driven by Mauricio Pochettino, who is giving his young players confidence and time to express themselves while also demanding a strong work ethic in closing opponents down - a potent combination. 2016 Getty Images 5/13 Kompany woe City have looked short of a leader at times, and that is down to Vincent Kompany's repeated injury problems. The centre-back just can't stay fit, with the expensive Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi flattering to deceive in the Belgian's absence. 2015 Getty Images 6/13 Awesome Alderweireld A lack of centre-back leadership has not been a problem for Spurs - they beat Southampton to Toby Alderweireld last summer, and the transfer battle has been worth it. Combative off the ball as well as a real danger on it with long passes from the back, Pochettino has one of the league's best defenders on his hands. 2016 Getty Images 7/13 Will the real Yaya please stand up? With Kompany missing for long stretches, Yay Toure has been handed the chance to lead from midfield. Unfortunately for City, the veteran veers wildly between majestic displays and disappearing acts - too wildly for a player of his experience and responsibility within the squad - and he could well be off this summer. 2016 Getty Images 8/13 Spurs Del-ight At the other end of the spectrum, Dele Alli has burst through for Spurs and, rather than looking like a future star, already appears to be there. The 19-year-old was playing League One football last season, but is already a shoo-in for England's Euro 2016 squad and may well have scored the goal of the season against Palace. 2016 Getty Images 9/13 Aguero's injury curse The accompanying picture sums up Sergio Aguero's season so far, with the striker pulling up injured just after scoring. The Argentine has 14 goals in the league this term, but City - and Pellegrini in particular - must wonder just how good he could be if he could stay fit regularly. 10/13 Hurri-Kane Harry Kane has kept up his goal-scoring form to shut down any talk he was a one-season wonder, and with Spurs dismissing any notion of selling the young forward in a big-money move this summer, the England international is leading the line with confidence. 11/13 Whipping boys City's main problem is that for all their talent, they themselves can also be beaten easily on any given day. Their back line and midfield wilt under pressure, which could well play into Spurs' hands on Sunday. Still, Pellegrini's side have more than enough attacking prowess to trouble their visitors. 2015 Liverpool FC 12/13 Pep Talk It's impossible to ignore the effect that speculation regarding Pellegrini's future has had on City. The club have finally announced Pep Guardiola will replace the Chilean this summer, though it remains to be seen how City's squad will react to a demanding run-in with a lame duck in charge. 2014 Getty Images 13/13 Coaches collide With one coach on the up and the other on the way out, it promises to be a fascinating battle of styles at the Etihad - can Spurs contain City's talented forwards and exploit their defensive frailties?

“I had support from everyone - from the fans, especially - and I will be always grateful for all [the] love that they showed me during these years.”

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