Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Real Madrid attacking midfielder and Holland international Rafael van der Vaart.
There had been some doubt as to whether the paperwork required to complete Van der Vaart’s signing had been sent to the FA in time, but Tottenham have officially announced the signing on their website today.
“We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of Rafael Van der Vaart,†the statement on tottenhamhotspur.com read.
Harry Redknapp wasn’t planning on doing a lot of business yesterday, but when Rafael van der Vaart became available for a cut-price, the Tottenham manager couldn’t resist.
“I think he was going to Bayern Munich yesterday for about £18million, but suddenly it became an awful lot cheaper,” Redknapp said yesterday.
“He is available now for about £8million. He is a quality player. He is a Dutch international and a great footballer.
“For that sort of money, he is a top player and he will improve us for sure. We have made the effort, whether we can pull it off or not we will have to see.
“I am hopeful. It could happen. It was a last-minute job. When I came in this morning it certainly wasn’t something I was looking to do.
“He is a great passer of the ball, he is a top footballer. He will join in here and play the way we like to play, he would be a big plus for us.
“He looked like he was going for £18million but then the fee came crashing down because the deadline got close. If the chairman can pull it off, I think he will have got a real bargain.”
The 27-year-old has been capped 83 times by the Netherlands, and has previously played for Ajax and Hamburg.
