Spurs wait on van der Vaart verdict

Tottenham were today hopeful of being given the all clear over the signing of Rafael van der Vaart after technical problems saw them struggle to complete the £8m move before the transfer deadline.

The Premier League are understood to be investigating what Spurs claim were difficulties involving computer servers used in the transaction between themselves and Real, which hindered their attempts to submit the relevant paperwork on time.

It is not the first time the Premier League have assessed whether a transfer has been completed before the deadline.

In February 2009, they took a day to sanction Andrei Arshavin’s move to Arsenal.

A year earlier, Manchester City were unable to formally announce the signing of Benjani Mwaruwari’s from Portsmouth for almost a week due to a wrangle over whether the paperwork had been submitted before the deadline.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp last night revealed he was alerted to the availability of Holland star Van de Vaart just two hours before the window closed at 6pm.

Redknapp claimed the 27-year-old had been set to join Bayern Munich for £18m on Monday but the move broke down.