Peter Odemwingie may have taken the spotlight as the transfer window shut, but QPR manager Harry Redknapp did manage to get three more new faces into Loftus Road.
While AWOL West Brom striker Odemwingie was turning up in London and trying to force through a move to Rangers without permission, Redknapp was tying up late-night deals for Tottenham pair Jermaine Jenas and Andros Townsend.
The former penned an 18-month deal and the latter signed on loan until the end of the season – the 21-year-old’s ninth loan spell – and the duo followed Christopher Samba into the club.
Rangers have paid a club-record fee believed to be in excess of STG1 million ($A1.53 million) for the 28-year-old former Blackburn captain, with the defender signing a four-and-a-half-year deal.
Redknapp credited owner Tony Fernandes with making the deal happen after he triggered the defender’s release clause at Anzhi Makhachkala and said: “This is an unbelievable signing. Tony deserves a lot of credit for this one – he has worked so hard on bringing him in.
“I said to him: ‘If you’re asking me who I’d have, I’ll give you a couple of players.’ One of them was Chris Samba. The next thing I know he’s telling me that he’s working on bringing him in. It’s amazing.”
Samba will not be able to list Odemwingie as one of his team-mates – the 31-year-old will be back at West Brom today trying to pick up the pieces of his failed escape mission – but he will share a dressing room with Jenas and Townsend.
Both players worked with Redknapp at Tottenham and in the case of the former, he is looking forward to the fight for Premier League survival.
“It’s great to be linking up with Harry again. Him being here was key to me making the move,” he said.
“I know what he brings as a manager and on a personal level, it’s an opportunity for me to play football.
“It’s no secret I’ve had some injury problems in the last couple of years, but this is a great opportunity for me to play in the Premier League – and hopefully keep this club where they belong.”
Redknapp knows what he is getting in Jenas, and also has big hopes for Townsend.
The winger has yet to have a steady run at any club, but Redknapp has faith in him, believing he is unlucky to be behind others at Tottenham.
“Andros is a kid with a fantastic future,” he said.
“I like Andros an awful lot. He’s a winger, he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s brave and he scores goals.
“He’s unlucky that he’s got [Gareth] Bale and [Aaron] Lennon keeping him out of the team.
“I think eventually he’ll become a big player.”
QPR were the biggest spenders on the last day of the window, but chief executive Phil Beard defended the club’s policy, saying he had yet to see an “accurate” representation of the money they had spent.
