• Mikey Stafford
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 September 2009 21.22 BST
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Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Tom Jenkins

Harry Redknapp endured a frustrating transfer deadline day with the Tottenham Hotspur manager securing the services of only one of the five players he had hoped to sign before today's cut-off.

Niko Kranjcar did join but Redknapp missed out on another Portsmouth player, David James, as well as the Sunderland central defender Anton Ferdinand, the West Ham United centre-half Matthew Upson and the Manchester City midfielder Martin Petrov. Redknapp had hoped to swap David Bentley for the Bulgarian.

Kranjcar, who cost around L2.5m, is the third player Redknapp has signed from Portsmouth since he left for Spurs last October, following the strikers Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch. The 25-year-old Croatia international, brought to Fratton Park by Redknapp from Hajduk Split for L3.5m in 2006, will offer cover for Luka Modric, who has a fractured leg. Redknapp described Kranjcar as a "terrific player".

"He was in the last year of his contract at Portsmouth, so it is a good deal for both clubs," he added. "I think Portsmouth have got a good price."

Kranjcar said he turned down Everton to join Tottenham: "Everton is also a big club but, in the end, the tradition and greatness of Tottenham made the difference. I also knew the manager Harry Redknapp and Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka told me great things about the club."

The signing brings Redknapp's spending since taking over at Tottenham to more than L60m. But he was keen to make further additions, despite recording five wins from the opening five games of this season, with central defence a priority. Jonathan Woodgate, Michael Dawson and Ledley King are all injured.

Tottenham approached Sunderland about a loan-swap involving Ferdinand and Alan Hutton and although Steve Bruce was keen on bringing the Scotland defender to the Stadium of Light, he would not consider losing Ferdinand. Redknapp said his chairman, Daniel Levy, had "made inquiries" about signing Upson but that a deal was never likely to succeed after West Ham sold their defender James Collins to Aston Villa. Redknapp's hopes of landing James were ended by Levy, who was not willing to sanction a move for a 39-year-old with little or no resale value. The deal was described by Redknapp as "never a possibility".