Harry gets his man as Niko completes Spurs switch
TOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp was last night revelling in the capture of Niko Kranjcar despite suffering mixed fortunes on a modest day of activity to end the summer transfer window.
The Spurs chief secured the signing of Portsmouth ace Kranjcar, who will join fellow Croatian internationals Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka at White Hart Lane in a cut-price deal, thought to be worth around £2m.
But Redknapp didn’t quite get everything his own way on what proved to be a docile day of activity which failed to spark any interest from the Premier League top four.
One of his main targets was Manchester City midfielder Martin Petrov with David Bentley reportedly set for a loan move in the other direction. But the deal quickly fell through when Spurs chairman Daniel Levy declared any deal for Bentley had to be permanent, forcing City boss Mark Hughes to pull out and later claim he wanted Petrov to stay.
Redknapp was also interested in England goalkeeper David James, but nothing materialised there, while a loan swap move involving full-back Alan Hutton and Sunderland centre back Anton Ferdinand broke down just minutes before the 5pm deadline.
But despite his mixed fortunes, Redknapp insisted he was happy with the capture of Kranjcar, who turned down interest from Everton to team up again with the man who introduced him to English football.
“I’m really delighted,” Redknapp said. “I signed Niko for Portsmouth, he’s a fantastic player. I’ve already got two fantastic Croatian players – Modric and Vedran Corluka – who can help him settle in.”
Redknapp turned to Kranjcar to provide immediate cover in midfield after his compatriot Modric fractured a bone in his leg against Birmingham on Saturday. Kranjcar teams up once again with ex-Portsmouth team-mates Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch.
The Croatian’s move to Spurs was arguably the highest profile move of the day, although Portsmouth boss Paul Hart made three signings to cover his loss.