Taarabt turns himself from zero to hero

Adel Taarabt has made so few appearances for Tottenham since joining in January 2007 that fans could have been forgiven for forgetting about him.

But the 19-year-old former Len midfielder, who was not even given a squad number by ex-boss Juande Ramos at the start of the season, proved an unlikely hero at Turf Moor.

Trailing 3-0, Spurs were heading out of the competition on away goals. But Taarabt's introduction in place of right-back Chris Gunter in the 95th minute gave Harry Redknapp's team the verve they had lacked until then.

Eyebrows were raised when Redknapp referred to Taarabt as "a genius" some weeks back, especially as he was said to have been offered to Middlesbrough as part of a package to bring Stewart Downing to White Hart Lane.

But Redknapp knows a few things about players, and Taarabt's talent was there for all to see.

He spent his 25 minutes on the pitch running at Burnley's tiring players, exploiting the extra space and driving Spurs forward, showing neat skill, impressive acceleration and a good range of passing.

Spurs had disappeared after Burnley's third goal, but Taarabt's arrival made them believe in an incredible escape.

Redknapp remains desperate to add more players to his squad before the transfer window closes on 2 February, and will continue to bend chairman Daniel Levy's ear to spend more than the £30million he has forked out already for Jermain Defoe and Wilson Palacios.

But on a night when Redknapp questioned the desire of certain players, Taarabt was not in his firing line.