Premier League: HR happy to take chance on Saha

Saha: Tottenham new boy

Saha, 33, joined Tottenham just before Tuesday night's 11pm deadline in one of the surprise moves of the January window.
The Frenchman replaces Roman Pavlyuchenko, who has headed for Lokomotiv Moscow for £8million while Steven Pienaar returned to Goodison Park for the rest of the season following Saha's exit.
Many have questioned Redknapp's judgement in bringing in an injury-prone striker past his prime, but he has a history of turning players who are supposedly over the hill in to good performers.
Redknapp reinvigorated the career of Paolo di Canio at West Ham, somehow managed to get Kanu scoring goals while he was at the twilight of his career at Portsmouth, and has also got the best out of 34-year-old William Gallas since he arrived from Arsenal two summers ago.
Redknapp is confident that he has not taken a gamble by signing Saha. He said: "He's got good movement, can score goals but probably needs a change. He's out of contract at the end of the year so (Everton boss) David Moyes has let him go.
"I can remember speaking to Rio Ferdinand and he said he was the best forward he'd played against."
Tottenham shipped out Sebastien Bassong on loan to Wolves and were awaiting confirmation on Wednesday morning that their bid to sign Blackburn's veteran defender Ryan Nelsen to replace him had gone through.
Nelsen, 34, was out of contract at the end of the season and has only played once for Rovers this term, making him an even more surprising choice than Saha.
Redknapp insists the New Zealander will have a big impact at Tottenham if the deal goes through, however.
"I think he's a great competitor and a good sort to have at your club," Redknapp said after last night's 3-1 win over Wigan.
"I have always liked him."
The arrival of both players is welcome given that Redknapp saw his injury list increase last night.
Rafael van der Vaart (calf), Kyle Walker (groin) and Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring) all hobbled off through injury and are doubts for Monday's game at Liverpool.
Spurs are already without long-term absentees Gallas (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (ankle), while Michael Dawson has only just returned from an Achilles layoff.
The only other bits of business concluded at Tottenham on Tuesday saw Vedran Corluka join Bayer Leverkusen until the end of the season and youngster Adam Smith sign for Leeds on loan for the rest of the current campaign.

Premier League: City star Tevez left in limbo

Tevez: What now for striker?

Tuesday night's 11pm transfer deadline passed without news of any potential transfer for the 27-year-old coming to light.

Barring the possibility of a very late deal having been struck and to be announced on Wednesday, it appears Tevez will remain a City player at least until the end of the season.
That means Tevez may now return to Manchester from Argentina, where he has been since last November without the club's permission, as was suggested by his advisor Kia Joorabchian last week.
Mancini was asked about the situation after his side's disappointing defeat at Everton on Tuesday night but said he did not know what the latest position was.
Mancini has previously said it would be "impossible" for Tevez to return and be reintegrated into the squad.
He did not want to discuss the matter much when asked what would happen if Tevez was still on City's books.
"Tevez is always a Manchester City player," the Italian said. "I don't know what his condition is at this moment."
When asked if Tevez would still need to apologise to in order to be considered for selection again, Mancini said: "I don't know at this moment."
AC Milan were thought to be Tevez's favoured suitors but could not meet City's £25million asking price.
Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain also expressed interest but were unable to conclude a deal.
Liverpool and QPR were also linked but the only rumoured interest remaining now - for this season at least - is from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, whose transfer window remains open.
Should Tevez return to City soon, he would do so against the backdrop of an ongoing dispute with the club.
The former Manchester United and West Ham striker has appealed to the Premier League against the fine for gross misconduct of approximately £1.2million imposed on him by City.
Tevez has already failed in one appeal to the club's board of directors after being charged over his failure to report for duty whilst back in Argentina.
A statement from the Premier League read: "The Premier League received correspondence from Carlos Tevez last night [Monday] giving notice of Mr Tevez's intention to appeal against a disciplinary sanction imposed on him by his club, Manchester City.
"Premier League rules allow for players to appeal disciplinary decisions under Section K and the Premier League Board will consider this request at the earliest available opportunity."

Premier League: Dalglish says that Doubts were insulting

Dalglish: No late Reds business

Liverpool reportedly made an approach to sign Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez last week and offered England international Andy Carroll in exchange.
Dalglish had stated on Monday that he would not discuss the speculation and also confirmed he was not intending to make any late additions to his squad.
However, there were rumours on deadline day that the Reds would try to persuade City into letting Tevez move to Anfield on loan for the rest of the season.
The Reds ultimately signed no-one on the last day of the transfer window and Dalglish is disappointed that his previous comments had been questioned.
"We don't need to justify the rumours," said Dalglish after Tuesday night's 3-0 win at Wolves. "That is not our problem.
"You must think we tell you lies because we came out and told you yesterday (Monday) there would be nothing happening.
"It's a wee bit insulting when people don't believe you and I don't see why we need to be anything other than truthful."
Craig Bellamy was the star of the show as he ran the Wolves defence ragged in addition to netting his ninth goal of the campaign.
Dalglish said: "Craig was fantastic again. I wish his numbers were the other way around that, instead of being 32, I wish he was 23.
"Craig doesn't do anything that surprises you. He prepares himself really well for matches.
"He knows the best thing for himself within the framework of the team. When he gets the ball, you are expecting something to happen."

Premier League: AVB maintains Torres defence

Torres: Frustrating night at Swansea

The Spaniard once again drew a blank in Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Swansea at the Liberty Stadium as he marked the anniversary of his £50million move to the Blues with another anonymous performance.
Torres has scored just five goals since his big-money move from Liverpool, and he has not found the net in the 17 matches since he got on the scoresheet in the Champions League win over Genk in October.
His last Premier League goal came when Chelsea beat Swansea 4-1 at Stamford Bridge in September.
Torres is enjoying an extended run in the Blues team with Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou away on international duty with the Ivory Coast at the African Nations Cup. And while Villas-Boas is happy to put his faith in Torres, he hinted that the former Atletico Madrid forward may face a battle to keep his place when Drogba returns.
"It is normal, he is taking his time," he said of Torres.
"The confidence is there and we believe a lot in the player, he helped the team with his lay offs and passing and in this situation he has to continue to persist and maybe we can create opportunities that can help us win games.
"If we need to create more opportunities for him to score then that's what we need to do."
He added: "The two players (Drogba and Torres) compete for the striker position, when Didier arrives back it will be healthy competition and we know the significance of Didier to this team and his goals record.
"We will reassess things when Didier comes back and see how tired he is. His ambition is to stay with us and try and win trophies, so he will be a major plus for the team."
And Villas-Boas will have another headache to contend with after seeing Ashley Cole sent off when the England full-back was shown a second yellow card for his challenge on Swansea winger Nathan Dyer with five minutes to go at the Liberty Stadium, a dismissal that rules him out of Sunday's meeting with Manchester United.
Swansea had led thanks to Scott Sinclair's stunning 39th-minute volley against his former club, but were denied a repeat of their famous victory over Arsenal when Jose Bosingwa's stoppage time ball across the box took a wicked deflection off Neil Taylor to beat Swansea keeper Michel Vorm.

Premier League: Rovers boss eager to move on

Kean: Happy with Rovers' signings

The Rovers boss fended off interest for wantaway defender and captain Chris Samba and striker Junior Hoilett, who have both been linked with several clubs.
Keith Andrews was the only confirmed departure from the north west club on deadline day - although veteran Ryan Nelsen may be belatedly unveiled as a Tottenham player if his move went through in time last night - while Rovers secured two late additions before the window closed.
Midfielder Andrews, who spent the first half of the season on loan at Championship side Ipswich, moved to West Brom on a short-term contract until the end of the season.
Earlier on Tuesday, Blackburn secured the services of defender Marcus Olsson - who joins his twin brother Martin - on a free transfer from Swedish side Halmstad, with QPR defender Bradley Orr moving to Ewood Park on a two-and-a-half year deal.
They join striker Anthony Modeste who moved to Blackburn from Bordeaux on loan earlier in the month, with Rovers midfielder David Dunn signing a contract extension until June next year.
Despite only bringing three new players to the club, Kean is confident he has done enough to ensure Blackburn avoid relegation.
"We've managed to get three new players in," Kean said ahead of tonight's match with Newcastle. "We did our business on the way in and are done and dusted."
And the Rovers boss believes that Samba, who handed in a transfer request last month, with knuckle down and rediscover his best form now the window has closed.
"We were very strong with our statement earlier on," Kean said.
"We want him to be part of the club, he signed a long-term deal and we want him to get back on it and get his head around the fact that he's going to be here.
"In the last window and windows before that, as soon as it closed and he got his head around being here, his performance levels were excellent.
"It's never nice when someone makes a transfer request, but a contract is a two-way thing. We never accepted the transfer request and we want him to be a part of what we're trying to do here.
"I know he's put in his request, I'll need to speak to him and say 'We need to move forward now, we need to get you back in the frame, we need to get you mentally prepared properly and there are no physical problems'."

Premier League: Mick accepts Wolves complaints

McCarthy: Not happy after home defeat

Second-half goals from Andy Carroll, Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt at Molineux completed a memorable seven days for the Reds after their Carling Cup and FA Cup triumphs over the two Manchester clubs.
But Wolves have now gone nine league games without a win - a run from which they have collected just four points - and there were boos at the final whistle on Tuesday night.
McCarthy said: "After the last home game (against Aston Villa), there were huge rumours that I wouldn't be here.
"I can't imagine there will be any less after this game. We will see. I can hear what the fans are saying and I fully understand it.
"It was an unacceptable performance from us in the second half and watching that was unacceptable for me or anybody else.
"That's as bad a performance as we've had here or away. Fans pay good money to come and watch and they expect better and I understand that.
"If I had been watching, I'd have probably responded like that as well."
McCarthy added: "The lads are hurting, there are none of them that have come and not tried.
"But once we've conceded, we've gone on to be beaten by a considerably better side who have just beaten Manchester City and Manchester United.
"If you give them goals then it becomes hard work but I understand people's reactions."
The only consolation for McCarthy was the signing of Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong on loan until the end of the season shortly before the transfer window closed.

Premier League: Pranjic 'almost joined Toffees'

Pranjic: Out of favour at Bayern

The Croatia international is out of favour at the Allianz Arena and was open to the prospect of moving on in January.
Everton were prepared to offer him a route out of Bayern, with David Moyes leaving it late to bolster his Goodison Park ranks.
Pranjic, who can operate in defence or in midfield, saw Bayern block his path, though, with their unrealistic demands causing talks to break down.
"I had an agreement with Everton for two-and-a-half years," the 30-year-old told Sportske Novosti.
"I was ready to board a plane and I was really happy because I knew that Everton were serious and that they had big plans for me.
"But now it is all over and this is a catastrophe. I can't describe the negative feelings I have.
"Bayern wanted so much money that everybody knew that Everton would not pay.
"I'm so unhappy because I was sure that I would be leaving Bayern. I don't play and now the opportunity to play in the Premier League has gone. I'm so unhappy."

Premier League: Terry trial scheduled for July

Terry: Denies charge

The player did not attend a short hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday, but his barrister George Carter-Stephenson QC, entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf.
Terry, 31, is accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence over video footage which appears to show him shout an offensive comment at QPR defender Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.

Premier League: Nelsen Spurs deal agreed

Nelsen: Tottenham deal agreed

Nelsen, 34, was out of contract at Blackburn at the end of the season and has only played once for Steve Kean's men this term.
Lyle Yorks, Nelsen's Washington-based representative from James Grant Sports, told the Washington Post: "We settled with Blackburn and have reached agreement with Spurs.
"We're just awaiting clearance. It's for six months, with a one-year option. It all unfolded quickly."
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp had said on Tuesday night: "I think he's a great competitor and a good sort to have at your club. I have always liked him."