SPURS BLOG: Window shut, squad list in, time for action

3:13pm Thursday 2nd September 2010

By James Ranger

AFTER what felt like an age of speculation and dashed hopes, Harry Redknapp has secured the signature of a top-level signing for next season.

The paperwork for Rafael Van der Vaart's £8 million move from Real Madrid had its Ts crossed and Is dotted just minutes before the deadline closed, and Premier League bosses were running over it with a fine-tooth comb for nearly 24 hours before finally ratifying the deal yesterday afternoon.

Fortunately the transfer was agreed just in time for the 5pm cut-off for clubs to submit their 25-man squad for the remainder of the season, and the Dutch playmaker will definitely feature for Spurs this season.

Make no mistake, this is a big move. While Van der Vaart may have languished on the bench at the Bernabeu last season – less of a Galactico, more a small solar system – he is a class act, and backed up his reputation with some solid performances for the Netherlands in the recent World Cup.

With more than 80 caps under his belt he may not have a place in Jose Mourinho's plans at Real but he will surely become part of Harry's, as he's exactly the sort of classy and experienced attacking player we'll need if we're to give a good account of ourselves against Europe's best defences.

The joy at Van der Vaart's inclusion in the squad coincided with a note of sadness, however, as Jonathan Woodgate had to be left out due to injury.

His future at the Lane is now surely in question as the 30-year-old (who was also the last player we signed from Real Madrid, trivia fans) has been dogged by injury in recent years.

It's a sorry sight for the man who scored the winning goal to give us our most recent piece of silverware, and who is one of the best centre-backs in the league on his day, on the sick list.

On reflection, it's been a pretty good summer in the transfer market, with a goalkeeper, a centre-back, a defensive midfielder and playmaker all set to pull on the shirt.

However, the complete dearth of any changes in our front-line might worry some fans who have reservations about Robbie Keane's future and the fact that Roman Pavlyuchenko appears to have swapped his boots for horseshoes.

And now with Peter Crouch missing out on England duty because of a back complaint, our strike-force is looking a little thin on the ground.

If there was ever a time for Jermain Defoe to shine and recapture the early form of last season, it's now.