Malbranque (left) and Routledge have gone in the opposite direction

Malbranque, 26, had been linked with a move away from the Cottagers after refusing to sign a new deal.

Bolton, West Ham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Portsmouth were all keen on the Frenchman.

Routledge, 21, has made just three appearances for Spurs since joining them in the summer of 2005.

He spent over three months at loan with Portsmouth but started just three league games for the club.

Malbranque, who turned down a �4m move to Middlesbrough, has been at Fulham since joining them in a �5m move from Lyon in 2001 and made over 200 appearances.

Spurs boss Martin Jol said: "Steed is a skilful, versatile midfielder of real quality.

606 VIEW Malbranque is a quality player who I've admired for a long time, a great signing by Spurs CK 606: Have your say

"He is a player we have always admired and we are delighted he has come to us, there were a number of other clubs interested.

"He is a player who can cover the left, centre and right midfield positions and will work well within our system."

Malbranque is unlikely to be seen in a Spurs shirt until November as he has a groin injury.

He said: "Tottenham is a big club and it's a fantastic new challenge for me. It's an excellent squad and I'm looking forward to joining.

"I will be working hard on my recovery and rehabilitation in order to be ready to play as soon as possible."

Routledge said: "Obviously it was a blow for me to get injured as soon as I joined Spurs and it's been frustrating since regaining fitness to not be able to break back into the team.

"This is a great opportunity to get back into first-team football, and especially as it is with a club whose footballing style I have always liked."