Tottenham in talks with Premier League over van der Vaart deal

Spurs are locked in discussions with the Premier League about rubber-stamping an amazing 11th hour deal for Holland star Rafael van der Vaart, talkSPORT understands.

Tottenham have agreed an £8m fee with Real Madrid for the Dutch midfielder, but are having to prove to the Premier League that they did everything they could to get the paperwork through in time for the 6pm deadline earlier today.

Manager Harry Redknapp confirmed that the transfer has been agreed in principle, having come to the table very late in the day.

Van der Vaart was discussing an £18m move to Bayern Munich on Monday, but that fell though and allowed Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to move in quickly.

The deal now hinges on whether the Premier League will accept Tottenham's argument that they had all the paperwork in place in time for the deadline.

Discussions were still ongoing between Mike Foster, secetary of the Premier League, and Tottenham's new club secretary Darren Eales.

Redknapp said: "It is a last minute job. It may happen and I hope we can get it done. The Chairman rang me at 4 O'clock to say it was possible. He's a top footballer, and yesterday he was due to be going to Bayern Munich for £18m, so if the Chairman pulls it off it is a great piece of business."

The Premier League admit they are able to show some flexibility in their deadline if a club can demonstrate a good reason for later delivery of the relevant paperwork. The question being debated now is whether Spurs can prove it.