Albeit slightly premature, I think it’s fair to say Rafael van der Vaart has been the signing of the season. His performances for Tottenham since his deadline-day arrival have helped transfer the North London side into a real force in the Premier League. But whilst Harry Redknapp can congratulate himself on a job well done by signing the Dutchman, are the rest of the top clubs bosses bemoaning a missed opportunity?
The deal which brought van der Vaart from Real Madrid to Spurs was surrounded by conspiracy theories. But whatever the case may be, for £8 million, Redknapp pulled off a major coup. Although his record speaks for itself, credit is due to the Spurs manager for bringing in a player who represented something of a risk. His career has been consistently interrupted with unfortunate injuries and the player himself stated he was beginning to fall out of love with football after becoming bored with Jose Mourinho’s regime at Madrid.
But now Tottenham’s new ‘Messiah’ has rediscovered the form which gave him his name as one of the worlds brightest talents, the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson must be wishing they had taken a chance on him.
Despite being second only on goal difference, Manchester United haven’t yet managed to set the Premier League alight this season, and at times, they have desperately missed that creative spark someone like van der Vaart could provide. At the moment, they are doing more than enough to compensate; unbeaten this season proves that, but when Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs do finally decide it’s time to hang up the boots, there is going to be a huge void left in United’s midfield. A void that a certain Dutchman would fill quite nicely.
Chelsea have missed the injured Frank Lampard and despite bringing in the likes of James Milner, Adam Johnson and Mario Balotelli, Manchester City have lacked any kind of attacking prowess so far, apart from last weekend of course.
Arsene Wenger argued that he decided against bidding for the Spurs man because he didn’t need another midfielder. Insisting his squad was the best he’d had in years, the Arsenal manager reeled off a list of names to back up his point. Admittedly, Wenger has acquired an impressive attacking line-up, but on this form I question which side wouldn’t be improved by Rafael van der Vaart?
Even if the rest of the Premier Leagues big guns did now decide that the Dutchman should be plying his trade at their respective club, it’s hard to see the attacking midfielder being prepared to leave White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp has given him a platform at Tottenham to express himself and play the way he enjoys; eight goals in 13 games would suggest the player is happier at Spurs than he has been in a while.
If van der Vaart’s form continues, Tottenham can continue to improve and upset the odds. The win at the Emirates was a huge sign of what Redknapp is trying to build at Spurs and whilst other managers may look longingly on at the Dutchman, Harry will carry on building a team around one of Europe’s best.