Spurs Balls: Harry Redknapp Almost Signed Viera And Luis Suarez, Says Harry Redknapp
QPR manager Harry Redknapp has his latest book serialised in the Daily Mail.
Having talked utter balls about racism and Manchester City, the media’s favourite man on the inside explains who he signed Luis Suarez for Tottenham Hotspur from Ajax in 2011. Oh, no. Sorry. How he nearly signed Luis Suarez for Spurs had Liverpool not signed the brilliant Uruguayan.
“Despite all that has happened in his career since, one of the biggest regrets of my life in management is not taking Luis Suarez to Tottenham when we had the chance.”
The chance..?
“‘You’ve got to take him, Harry,’ Ruud Gullit told me. ‘He’s fantastic.’ Yet all of our scouts’ reports said that at Ajax he played wide off a striker, whereas we were looking for a proper front man.”
Did you lack the foresight, then, Harry?
“Just when I was on the verge of taking the plunge, the price went up. In the end he was sold for £22.8million to Liverpool. We wouldn’t have paid that.”
Oh, and Redknapp almost signed Arsenal great Patrick Vieira for Spurs too.
“Vieira was a different type of midfield player and one every club would like to take now. He almost came to me at Tottenham from Inter Milan.”
Almost… But didn’t.
Does anyone who supports Spurs rue his departure from the club? He was no Martin Jol, was he?
“I thought it was an incredible decision by him, after he’d been such a hero at Arsenal. I met him at his house in Hampstead and he had no fear about what people would think or what reception he would get…”
But you never did sign him, did you.
“He had enough confidence in his ability to just brush it away.”
Sure. But he never did sign for Spurs.
“In the end, his circumstances changed and he decided to stay in Italy. By the time he did become available — the following January — our needs had changed and Manchester City snapped him up.”
City snapped him up. And the great Viera got away.
In other news: Harry Redknapp never signed Fabregas, Ozil, Rooney…
Posted: 9th, October 2014 | In: Sports, Spurs Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
