Premier League - Van der Vaart snubbed Liverpool for Tottenham
Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that he chose to join the Tottenham Hotspur's despite having decent offers from other teams. The biggest name that the player revealed amongst those teams, was that of Liverpool. The player admitted to having snubbed the Anfield outfit to join Tottenham in North London instead.
The transfer however was not a straight forward one, the Holland international made one of the most dramatic deadline day switches to the White Hart Lane, this was all thanks to the Tottenham boss, Harry Redknapp who might have moved late for the players services, but was just in time to get them.
At one point however it appeared as though the playmaker would spend another season in Spain with Real Madrid as no agreement seemed to have taken place to lure the player away from the Bernabeu.
However, Tottenham managed to snap up the player, from under everyone's noses. The move was clearly amongst some of the most shocking and unexpected moves in the summers transfer window.
The manager, Redknapp claimed that he decided to pounce for the player once he realized that Bayern Munich were coming short on their efforts to strike up a deal to capture the player.
However the twenty seven year old midfielder insists that the team that were really pursuing him, were not the German giants but instead Liverpool.
He said that it was a hard choice choosing between the two teams but, he eventually did make up his mind as he decided to join Tottenham over the Red's.
Van der Vaart told Sky Sports News: "Liverpool were interested. Bayern were not interested."
"In the end you have to have a good feeling, and with this manager I got a good feeling. I am happy and I am going to Spurs."
"I am going to give it my best and hopefully I will play a lot of games and be important for the team. I hope to get a lot of goals and have a lot of fun."
Van der Vaart is also looking forward to adding to the strong Dutch contingent already plying their trade in the English top flight.
Having been urged to move to the Premier League by his international colleagues for some time, the former Ajax and Hamburg ace is keen to see what all the fuss is about
"They were always telling me, 'You have to come to England," he added.
"Now it's happened and I am really looking forward to playing against Dirk Kuyt, against Nigel De Jong, against John Heitinga."
The midfielder could be just the player that Tottenham needed to actually see them do better than what they did last season. The midfielder has one of the best left feet in the game and cross from almost anywhere on the pitch. He has more than a decent shot and is terrific at the set piece.
If the midfielder can happen to form a good chemistry with Tottenham's star performers, which include, Gareth Bale and Jermaine Defoe, then Tottenham could potentially become twice as deadly as they already are.
Having a midfielder of Van der Vaart’s caliber can also prove to be crucial to Tottenham, since it is the first time they have managed to make it into the Champions League. This means that this is the first time the team will have to play midweek matches.
They would also have the much needed experience that is crucial in the European competitions, considering no other player in the squad has played at such a high level, the addition of the player could prove to be one of the best moves made by Redknapp.
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