Tottenham Hotspur have secured the signing of Real Madrid midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart for £8 million ($12.3 million).
Manager Harry Redknapp made his move to sign the 27-year-old Dutch international just two hours before the transfer window closed at 1800 BST on Tuesday.
However, the club’s urgency to file the required paperwork before the deadline was hit by a technical glitch.
After investigating the club’s claims, the Premier League sanctioned the transfer on Wednesday.
Spurs faced an anxious wait, with the 1700 BST cut-off point on Wednesday for clubs to submit their 25-man senior squads, as Premier League officials assessed their claims.
Van der Vaart became Tottenham’s second deadline-day signing after Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa joined on a season-long loan from Russian club Spartak Moscow.
Both players were included in Redknapp’s squad for the first half of the season but injury-prone defender Jonathan Woodgate was left out altogether.
Real Madrid disputed Redknapp’s claims that Bayern Munich had earlier made an offer of more than double their bid for Van der Vaart.
“It was a last-minute job”, Redknapp admitted on Tuesday, “I think he was going to Bayern Munich on Monday for £18 million and suddenly he became much cheaper”.
“They let me know around 4pm (1600 BST) that he was available for £8 million and, for that money, he is a top player who will definitely improve us. The fee has come crashing down because the deadline is so close”.
However, a statement from Real Madrid proved contradictory: “It is absolutely false that Real Madrid received a 21 million euro (£18 million) offer from Bayern Munich for Van der Vaart”.
