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If you look through all the signings that were made by Premier League teams last summer, I cannot see a better value for money signing than Niko Kranjcar. At 25 years of age, and a Croatian international, it was a terrific bargain when Harry Redknapp took advantage of the financial crisis at Portsmouth to bring the winger to White Hart Lane for a mere £2.5million. In comparison to all the other signings in the summer who cost perhaps ten times more than the Croat, Kranjcar has performed out of his skin on the left hand side of midfield while deputising for fellow Croatian Luka Modric.

The perplexing thing for me was why wasn’t there more interest in the player when he was at Portsmouth? Kranjcar had always demonstrated his abilities on the South coast, good on the ball and known for a spectacular strike on goal, the player would have been no risk, and is the sort of player I wouldn’t have minded at my own club Liverpool. Harry as always knows a bargain when he sees one and he picked the Croatian midfielder up for a bargain price. To look at the other purchases in the summer, you begin to see how remarkably cheap Kranjcar was.

Antonio Valencia cost Manchester United£ 16million, and although he is lightning quick and has a good cross and shot, I would never say the player is six times a better player than the 25 year old Croatian. At 24, he is only a year younger than Kranjcar and the fee for the Ecuadorian international seems out of proportion compared to the Croatians. Yuri Zhirkov also cost Chelsea £18million, a left winger by trade, the Russian has found himself a regular on the bench this season under Carlo Ancelotti, and although he can be a quality player on his day, Kranjcar could match and perhaps surpass the player for both creativity and shooting ability in front of goal. The Russian has now found himself at left back where he started his career, in the absence of Ashley Cole, but he would no doubt be happier in midfield.

Then we come to one of Kranjcar’s fellow team-mates, David Bentley. In 2008, the England winger cost Spurs £15million. The move has not worked out and he has found himself on the bench while Kranjcar has been an instant first choice on the left wing during the absence of Modric. It is pretty clear that Kranjcar’s brief stay at White Hart Lane has already surpassed Bentley’s achievements at the Lane, and all for £13million cheaper.

Looking around at other bargains this season, perhaps Damien Duff transfer from Newcastle to Fulham could be looked at but his age and injury record made his price tag more realistic than the cut price deal which Harry got from Portsmouth for Kranjcar. For me, if the Croatian continues to perform at the same level and continues to play in the starting eleven, he will no doubt be my signing of the season.