HARRY Redknapp believes that Tottenham missed a big opportunity to sign Phil Neville by waiting until deadline day to make a “pretty low offer for a good player”.

The Spurs boss had targeted Neville at the very start of the January window, and admitted his interest half way through the month.

However, chairman Daniel Levy declined to make a bid, and the Lilywhites’ first offer of �250,000 was only registered on Saturday afternoon.

Having been rebuffed, Tottenham returned with a �500,000 bid for the 34-year-old on Monday – and Redknapp admits that that was far too late, and far too low.

“I don’t blame David [Moyes] for not letting him go,” said the Spurs boss. “We have been interested now for the last six weeks or so, ever since the window opened, and for him to lose him [Neville] on the last day would have been difficult – it would have been hard for him to replace him.

“Neville was available for six weeks. We could have got him earlier. We could have tried earlier and David was quite right not to sell him, his captain.

“It was a pretty low offer for a good player. I couldn’t argue with David [when he said the bid was insulting].”

Tottenham also left it late to bid for their forward targets, and were frustrated in their attempts to sign Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguero and his strike partner Diego Forlan.

Chairman Daniel Levy even made a late �35million approach for Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi, who scored a hat-trick at White Hart Lane in pre-season as the Spanish outfit won 4-1, but was frustrated again.

“The Aguero situation was impossible,” said Redknapp. “There was never a chance of getting him really, was there? It sounded good but it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t see anything coming off there.

“You talk about Rossi but obviously his price had gone up. And Forlan was a deal we couldn’t do to be honest. He was on �140,000 a week. It’s massive money and they wanted �15million for him and he’s 31 years old, nearly 32.

“You don’t have to be that clever to work out the sums over the three years do you?

“Strikers are at a premium. There are very few top, top ones around and if people have got them then they want good money for them.”

Tottenham’s frenetic search for a deadline day signing ended with a surprise bid for Blackpool’s Charlie Adam, which was scuppered by the 11pm deadline.

However, Redknapp admits that Tottenham may return for the Tangerines’ skipper in the summer.

“Maybe, you never know,” he said. “Let’s see what happens now. We’ll see how we go and what the rest of the season brings.

“It would have been nice to have got a good player in here, just to give you that little lift at this time of year, but we didn’t find one and didn’t do anything.

“Why didn’t we bid earlier for him and Neville? Pass, I don’t know. Listen, I don’t want to criticise.”

In the end, the only movement at Tottenham on Monday was the departure of Giovani Dos Santos, who has joined Racing Santander on loan for the rest of the season.

The Mexico international, who has also had spells at Ipswich and Galatasaray during his disappointing Spurs career, has made just five appearances for the Lilywhites this season, and has not played since September

“He’s the loan ranger,” said Redknapp. “He goes out on loan quite regularly so hopefully he will go out there, have a good spell and do well. He has ability. It’s up to him to go and play now.”