Harry Redknapp has lifted the lid on Tottenham’s failed £18million pursuit of Eden Hazard – and also revealed Patrick Vieira was interested in joining Spurs before he changed his mind at the last minute.
Hazard has been one of the hottest tickets in town since breaking into Lille’s first team in 2008, with Europe’s big guns chasing the Belgian superstar.
Spurs were among the teams keeping a close eye on the highly-rated youngster, with Joe Cole recommending the player to Redknapp – and he even met with Hazard, who is keen on a move to north London.
But Daniel Levy was unwilling to sanction an £18 million deal and Chelsea eventually secured a £32 million deal in 2012. Hazard spent 7 years in west London becoming one of the best Premier League players of his generation before moving to Real Madrid.
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talking about It overlaps dailyBrought to you by Sky Vegas, Redknapp has explained why Spurs couldn’t agree a deal over the line for Hazard. He said: “Well, I met Eden Hazard. Joe Cole called me. He was at Lille and said: ‘I’m playing with the best player I’ve ever played with.’
“I went and watched him, I came back a week later and met him in his hotel room with his agent and he wanted to come.
“But at the time Daniel and he didn’t want to spend the money on him. I think it was around £18m. He was cheap but he was a player, a great young player.”
Another popular player Redknapp, who managed Spurs for four years before being sacked in 2012, was Arsenal icon Vieira.
Despite his successful spell with their north London rivals, Redknapp claimed Vieira was interested in a move to Spurs in 2009, but the Premier League champions, then playing for Inter Milan, decided against the move.
Redknapp added: “It would have been a really mind-blowing signing in retrospect. Patrick Vieira. I met Patrick at his house. He wanted to come. He was keen.
“It looked promising. I told him what bottle he had. He was a legend at Arsenal and he was ready to go to Tottenham. He was ready for it and then he got a better offer or whatever.
“I went to his house, sat at his house, had tea with him for two or three hours. He was enthusiastic. He was a great player at Arsenal, but he was ready to come and play at Tottenham. He wanted to. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have met me that day. He was ready for it.”
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