Tottenham today face a tense wait to discover if they have pulled off the deal of transfer deadline day – the £8m acquisition of Real Madrid's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart – as the Premier League investigate the club's claims that technical problems saw them struggle to meet the 6pm deadline.

Spurs, who were only alerted to Van der Vaart's availability two hours before the deadline, according to manager Harry Redknapp, are understood to have told the Premier League that technical difficulties relating to at least one of the computer servers being used by the buying and selling clubs then exacerbated attempts to submit the relevant paperwork in time. The League will today investigate that claim in more detail before they decide whether the new acquisition Redknapp had begun to despair of can be allowed to stand.

With Real desperate to release a player whose use to them has been severely limited by the arrival of Sergio Canales and Mesut Ozil, a €12m (£10m) deal with Bayern Munich had seemed likely but that collapsed, handing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy the opportunity which Redknapp said he had put to him yesterday afternoon. There was no announcement of a sale from Real last night, though the Spurs manager was confident that enough had been done before the 6pm deadline to secure the major signing which he had wanted following Champions League qualification. He certainly has history where last-minute deals are concerned: January's deal to bring in Niko Kranjcar was as close run as the release of Benjani Mwaruwari to Manchester City from Portsmouth, where he was manager, two years earlier.
"I think he was going to Bayern Munich yesterday for about £18m, but suddenly it became an awful lot cheaper," said Redknapp, whose attempt to sign Ryan Babel from Liverpool for £10m earlier in the day fell through as Liverpool's own £9m bid for West Ham's Carlton Cole came to nothing – even though Babel and possibly Lucas Leiva, were thrown in. "For that sort of money, he is a top player and he will improve us for sure. We have made the effort. I am hopeful. It could happen. It was a last-minute job."

Van der Vaart, who may not settle for anything less than regular starts, will be a tough management challenge for Redknapp. The Real manager, Jose Mourinho, appreciated his talents but simply had a preponderance of players for the position occupied by the 27-year-old. Redknapp's only other acquisition yesterday was Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa from Spartak Moscow on a season-long loan.

Sunderland and Birmingham City to dominated the day otherwise, revealing the extent of their Premier League ambitions with the most eye-catching deals. The Ghanaian international Asamoah Gyan arrives on Wearside for a club record £13m, as Birmingham secured Alexander Hleb on a season's loan, the exciting Chilean winger Jean Beausejour on a permanent deal and Martin Jiranek, the Spartak Moscow captain, as left-back and central defensive cover.

Gyan's move from Rennes – sealed 20 minutes before the transfer deadline – will capture most attention. The Sunderland manager, Steve Bruce, said last night that he had tried to buy the 24-year-old a year ago but "couldn't do it". His 13 goals in the France's Ligue 1 were a good return last season, though he managed only one the year before.

drive from www.independent.co.uk