Sam Allardyce has revealed Mike Ashley's budget cuts stopped him from signing Luka Modric in 2008 with Newcastle.

Allardyce had to settle on Geremi while Modric went to Tottenham.

Allardyce also revealed he came close to signing current Everton and England defenders Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka, but Newcastle failed to secure the deals.

Writing in his new book 'Big Sam', he said: "I was on the way to getting Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb but, by then, Mike saw the scale of the full debt and put the clamps on, so I had to make do with Geremi from Chelsea.

"We tried for Leighton Baines at Wigan and Phil Jagielka at Sheffield United, but I got Jose Enrique from Villarreal and eventually Habib Beye from Marseille and Abdoulaye Faye from Bolton on transfer deadline day."