Former Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp admits he was surprised to sign Spurs midfielder Sandro for Queens Park Rangers on deadline day – suggesting they had turned down a bigger offer for the Brazilian.

The midfield enforcer joined Redknapp’s Spurs from Brazilian side Internacional for £10m in 2010 but fell out of favour at White Hart Lane before joining the Hoops for a figure in the region of £8m.

Speaking to BT Sport, Redknapp said: "I was surprised we were able to get him to be honest, and that he wasn't playing more.

"I think Tottenham turned down a big bid from Zenit just before the start of the season.

"It was certainly four or five million more than we paid for him.”

Zenit, incidentally, are managed by former Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas.

Sandro, 25, had not made a Premier League appearance for Spurs under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino and had become an increasingly peripheral figure under his predecessor, Tim Sherwood, last term.

Sherwood had labelled the 6ft 2in midfielder “not good enough” for his side towards the end of the 2013/14 campaign after omitting him from his matchday squad on several occasions.

A full international for the Selecao, Sandro made 105 first-team appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring three times.