Robbie Keane: Chelsea will struggle to sign Luka Modric now Tottenham has overtaken them

Former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane has suggested Chelsea's days of coveting Luka Modric are over as the Croatian midfielder has a better chance of winning trophies at White Hart Lane.

Spurs have put an eight point lead between the two clubs following their fine Premier League form and Keane believes this will be sustained and lead to a challenge for the title in the months ahead.

“I’m looking at Chelsea trying to get Luka - it’s going to be very difficult now to to convince him to go there because it’s looking like Spurs have overtaken them,” Keane told the Daily Mail.

“There are top, top players in that Spurs’ squad. And they are proving it. Harry has had them doing it for a couple of years and you can now see them gelling together.

“And they have strength-in-depth. If you are leaving the likes of Jermain Defoe on the bench, you must have a strong team because you know he’s going to score goals.

“But if you look at their performances over the last 12 games or so, they look like a team that can stay there for some time. They will challenge for the title. There’s no question of that.

“The players’ performances suggest they believe it, too. Winning is a habit. If you look at the squad, Harry has built it up and he’s got players who can fill in every area.

“They have four or five top centre-halves. With the likes of Jermain and Pavlyuchenko on the bench, they have the strikers, too.”

As for his own situation, Keane has been loaned from LA Galaxy to provide some extra stimulus for Alex McLeish's side and is expected to make his debut against Everton on Saturday.

“I’m here for seven weeks and this will be a good challenge. I took calls from a few clubs but Villa is the one I felt most comfortable with,” Keane said.

“I’d like to make an impact, but what sort of impact can you make in such a short time? Hopefully it will be a good one. I hope it works out well for both parties.

“But whatever happens, I’ve got no plans to come back to the Premier League. It’s just something that suits everyone at the moment.

“I’ve had a good career in the Premier League and scored a lot of goals. I don’t think people’s opinion will change of me in that time. So, I don’t see that I’m taking a risk by coming back.'