Sam Allardyce says Luka Modric could have been a Newcastle player

Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said he almost signed Croatia midfielder Luka Modric during his time in charge at Newcastle but was foiled by the club's owner Mike Ashley.

Allardyce acquired Geremi from Chelsea instead but the move was not a great success and the manager ended up being fired after just eight months at the helm.

Meanwhile, Modric joined Tottenham in 2008 and was a big hit at White Hart Lane before moving on to Real Madrid for a fee in the region of £30m.

In his new book 'Big Sam', Allardyce detailed how the playmaker almost came to St James' Park.

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He wrote: "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."

Allardyce was hired in 2007 by the then Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd but soon found himself working under a new regime when Ashley completed a takeover.

And Allardyce wrote: "If ever there was a right club at the wrong time it was Newcastle United. I never had a chance once Mike Ashley took over.

"I wasn't his man and he just listened to more vocal fans who demanded change. We lost three games over Christmas at Wigan, Chelsea and at home to Man City, and the jungle drums were beating loudly."

Allardyce now finds himself in charge of Newcastle's neighbours Sunderland and the two sides meet on Sunday in his first home match as Black Cats boss.

Sunderland are bottom of the Premier League standings with just three points but will pull level with 18th-placed Newcastle if they can win what is sure to be a highly-charged Wear-Tyne derby.