Harry Redknapp reunited with Sandro and Niko Kranjcar at QPR
Posted Tuesday, September 02, 2014 by theguardian.com
Sandro joins from Tottenham for a fee that could reach £10m
Attempts to sign a striker fail to bring reward for Rangers
The midfielder Sandro, signed for Tottenham by Harry Redknapp in 2010, has joined the same manager at Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers’ frantic attempts to add to their options ahead of the deadline yielded the Brazil international Sandro from Tottenham Hotspur and a return to Loftus Road for Niko Kranjcar, though efforts to secure a replacement for Loïc Rémy were frustrated.
Sandro joined in a deal that could end up costing Rangers £10m having seen his opportunities limited at White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp had secured the midfielder for Spurs from Internacional four years ago and he had gone on to start 60 Premier League games for the north London club, though he has not featured since Mauricio Pochettino took up the reins at Tottenham earlier this summer.
“Sandro’s a proper footballer and a top-class professional, he’s an absolutely fantastic signing for us,” said Redknapp. “I couldn’t be more pleased. He’s been a massive target of mine all summer and I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to pull it off. It’s a real statement from the club, from the owners, to bring in a player of his undoubted ability. He brings energy, aggression, power and quality. They call him the Beast. He’s not only a top-quality footballer, but a fantastic boy as well. He’ll lead by example for us. Tottenham fans loved him and I’m sure the QPR fans will too.”
Kranjcar, who spent last season on loan at Loftus Road, has joined on another year’s loan from Dynamo Kiev having taken a wage cut of 66%, according to Redknapp, to return to English football, where he has previously featured for Spurs and Portsmouth. Yet there was frustration for Rangers to endure on other mooted deals. An attempt to secure the former Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth midfielder Lassana Diarra from Lokomotiv Moscow fell through due to a dispute between the 29-year-old and the Russian club.
An attempt to get Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin on a season-long loan also failed, while a potential £10m move for Liverpool’s Fabio Borini was scuppered by the Italian’s personal terms despite lengthy talks with the player’s representatives. It is understood the forward was seeking in the region of £90,000 a week to move to London, an amount which was considered prohibitive at Loftus Road. Redknapp had explored the possibility of securing Norwich City’s Gary Hooper, who was priced out of a move back to the Premier League, after Toronto resisted attempts to lure Jermain Defoe back to England from Major League Soccer.
The Canadian club made it clear the striker would not be available until January at the earliest. “We did try for him and we came close,” said the QPR owner, Tony Fernandes. “We agreed terms with the player, but his club in MLS didn’t want to let him go. We’ll probably come back to that in January because Jermain is happy to come here. But, for now, Harry is confident we have enough up front.”
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