Livermore details Modric's challenges upon arrival in England during time at Spurs

Despite facing criticism from fans who said he needed to be replaced, Livermore remained confident that Spurs had a gem in their midst.

"I'm not sure about that (Modric leaving), but sometimes players like that, they need the rest of the players to bounce off of them," Livermore said in an exclusive interview with talkSPORT. 

"I think maybe in his first season he struggled because the team didn't realise what he had and I think it soon became apparent after that... we had to give him the ball, feed him the ball and make runs off of him. 

"I think once he started to gel with the rest of the team and the rest of the team started to see what he could do, I think then he obviously came into his own."