Van der Vaart leaves it late

Manager Harry Redknapp revealed he became aware of Real Madrid midfielder Van der Vaart's availability for a cut-price £8 million ($13.75 million) just two hours before the 6pm, local time, cut-off.

But, more than three hours after that, there was still no confirmation from either club that the move had been completed in time.

Redknapp claimed 27-year-old Netherlands star Van der Vaart had the previous day been due to join Bayern Munich for £18 million ($30.94 million) but the move broke down.

The Spurs boss also confirmed he had made an enquiry about Liverpool winger Ryan Babel but 'never came close' to landing him.

Redknapp did, however, finally complete the signing of Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa on a season-long loan from Spartak Moscow.

In other deadline-day moves, Robinho made his final exit from Manchester City, while Sunderland broke its transfer record to land Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan.

Babel used his Twitter account to announce he was staying at Liverpool after reports he was flying by helicopter to London, with West Ham United also reportedly interested.

With most Premier League clubs keeping their chequebooks firmly closed, analysts Deloitte said total spending this northern summer was around £350 million ($601.56 million) - 22 percent down on last year.

Brazil forward Robinho signed for AC Milan on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee - variously reported as between £14 million ($24.06 million) and £18 million ($30.94 million).

City, which signed the 26-year-old for a British record fee of £32.5 million ($55.86 million) two years ago, will at least have his £160,000 ($274,999) weekly salary off the wage bill.

Gyan, the striker who made such an impact in the FIFA World Cup, joined Sunderland for £13 million ($22.34 million) from French side Rennes.

Birmingham City picked up former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb on a one-year loan from Barcelona, while Gunners fullback Armand Traore joined Juventus, also on a season-long loan deal.

On a busy day for Birmingham, it signed Chile midfielder Jean Beausejour on a three-year deal from Mexican side Club America - Beausejour being another player who made his mark in the World Cup - and defender Martin Jiranek on a one-year contract from Spartak Moscow.

The Blues also allowed striker Marcus Bent to join midlands rival Wolverhampton Wanderers on a four-month loan deal.

Paul Konchesky's expected move from Fulham to Liverpool was confirmed with a four-year contract for the defender, while Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic moved in the opposite direction.

Konchesky's arrival was swiftly followed by 21-year-old Argentinian left-back Emiliano Insua leaving Liverpool for Galatasaray on a season-long loan, with an option to make the deal permanent.

The Reds also sold Damien Plessis to Greek outfit Panathinaikos for an undisclosed fee.

Wigan Athletic pounced for two signings, paying £4 million ($6.88 million) for Chelsea's 21-year-old Argentinian striker Franco Di Santo on a three-year deal just minutes before the window closed.

Midfielder Tom Cleverley, 21, joined on loan from Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson decided to give the England Under-21 international some Premier League experience.

Everton confirmed its long-serving Nigerian defender Joseph Yobo was set to join Turkish club Fenerbahce on a season-long loan pending personal terms and a medical. Yobo had been at Goodison Park since 2002, making more than 250 appearances.

Stoke City clinched loan deals for Eidur Gudjohnsen from Monaco and Jermaine Pennant from Real Zaragoza, while former midfielder Salif Diao, whose contract expired at the end of last season, re-joined the club on a two-year deal and Marc Wilson arrived from Portsmouth.

Blackpool signed striker DJ Campbell from Leicester City and this time on a permanent basis.

Campbell had a successful loan spell at Blackpool last season and hit a hat-trick in the play-off semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest.

The Seasiders also swooped for Wycombe Wanderers' 19-year-old winger Matt Phillips for an initial fee of £325,000 ($558,642).

Bolton Wanderers signed Rodrigo Moreno from Benfica on a season-long loan, while Blackburn Rovers allowed Zurab Khizanishvili to rejoin Reading on the same terms.

One unusual deal came when Bundesliga side Werder Bremen moved for Northern Ireland under-21 striker Liam Boyce, the 19-year-old expected to complete a transfer from Cliftonville.

Blackburn later confirmed Dutch forward Maceo Rigters had joined Willem II on a season-long loan while Liverpool's Nabil El Zhar moved to Greek side PAOK on a similar deal.