The Hammers boss has close ties to the midfielder, having managed him at international level with Croatia.
Bilic still speaks with the 31-year-old and took Modric’s advice on board when chasing Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe – a former team-mate at Tottenham – last month.
Despite his history at Spurs, the West Ham manager would bring the world-class talent to the London Stadium, given the opportunity.
Modric remains an influential player at the Bernabeu under Zinedine Zidane but could return to England later in his career.
And even Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi would be second choice to Modric for Bilic.
When asked at a young Hammers fans event if he could buy any player in the world, who would he buy, Bilic initially replied: “Messi.”
However, the West Ham boss then added: “But, there’s one player that I would maybe get before Messi, and that’s Modric.
“Of course [it’s because he’s Croatian]… and I get a discount.”
Slaven Bilic joked he could sign Modric on the cheap due to his relationship with the player.
Having lost former talisman Dimitri Payet, the Madrid ace would certainly be a replacement in terms of quality and ability.
But West Ham’s main focus come the summer transfer window will once again be on signing a top striker.
