Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has explained rejecting the chance to sign Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart.
Hodgson revealed he was offered Van der Vaart in the summer and defended his decision not to sign the Dutch star, who has been such a revelation for Spurs.
"At the time we made the decision that this type of player was not our main profile," he said. "We had Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Joe Cole so as good a player as he is, we would just be doubling up all the time on a certain style of player.
"When his name came up you have to be interested because he is such a good player, but you have to look at your squad and think 'what will I do with this one or that one?' because he is a specific type of player who plays off the centre-forward."
