International break robs Harry Redknapp of time with Niko Kranjcar

James Olley
2 Sep 2009

Harry Redknapp has criticised the timing of the current international break for leaving him with hardly any opportunity to work with new signing Niko Kranjcar before facing Manchester United.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder completed a medical at Tottenham yesterday before joining up with the Croatia squad ahead of their matches against Belarus and England and is not expected to return to his new team-mates until 11 September.

Spurs face Premier League champions United only 24 hours later with Kranjcar, who moved to White Hart Lane for £2.5million from Portsmouth, set to replace the injured Luka Modric in a new look midfield.

But Redknapp said: "We had one player training with us today because of the internationals and we won't see any of the players, including Kranjcar, until the Friday before the match against United.

"What a crazy situation. They're going to be coming in from everywhere. Honduras, Cameroon, Mexico - you just hope that whenever they get back they're ready to play."

The Spurs manager was linked with deadline day moves for Portsmouth goalkeeper David James, West Ham defender Matthew Upson and a swap deal involving Sunderland centre-back Anton Ferdinand and Alan Hutton, while David Bentley was in talks over a switch to Manchester City.

However, none of these deals actually took place and overall Premier League clubs' spending on new players dropped by 10 per cent to £450m, with a big fall in investment in foreign players.

Even Manchester City's £120m spree failed to see the top flight match the record sum of £500m spent a year ago.

Football finance experts believe the high rate of the euro and 50 per cent tax rate for the very high earners has contributed to the drop, particularly in terms of players coming in from the continent.

Paul Rawnsley, director of Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said the figures were no surprise - and net spending has dropped from £200m to £80m as Manchester United and Liverpool resisted spending all their earnings from transfer income from Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso.

Rawnsley said: "There are a number of contributory factors - the exchange rate, the tax regime in Spain being more favourable to players and clubs, and perhaps clubs thinking there is less of a risk in buying established Premier League players than from overseas."

Arsenal were expected to bring in at least one new face before yesterday's deadline was reached but their long-running attempts to convince Bordeaux to accept a £5m bid for striker Marouane Chamakh simply fell on deaf ears.

The Gunners are expected to move for the 25-year-old again in January as he runs down the final year of his contract and will be available on a free transfer next summer.

West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury has revealed that the club's precarious financial position forced them to include Savio Nsereko in the deal to sign defender Manuel Da Costa from Italian side Fiorentina.

Da Costa, 23, has signed a three-year contract at Upton Park but Duxbury claims the Hammers would have preferred to keep striker Savio had the need to balance the books not prevailed.

He said: "This is a good deal for everyone concerned at the club. Although not for the want of trying, Savio has struggled to make an impact for various reasons, while Manuel is also looking for a fresh start."

James Collins moved to Aston Villa for £5m yesterday and the defender took a swipe at the Hammers' ambition by saying: "It's been a mad 24 hours since coming up here but I am delighted to have it all sorted.

"I really loved my time at West Ham but I believe that I have taken a step forward."