Harry Redknapp nearly signed Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard for Tottenham

Harry Redknapp claims that he nearly signed Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard when he was Tottenham manager, which could have made them title contenders.

During his time as Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp revealed that he had come close to signing two of the Premier League's top players, but ultimately ended up with Louis Saha and Ryan Nelson instead. Redknapp took over at White Hart Lane in October 2008 when the team was struggling at the bottom of the table with only two points.

Under Redknapp's guidance, Tottenham managed to secure an eighth-place finish that season and followed it up with a top-four finish the next year. The team even had a surprise run to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. However, Redknapp believes that their success could have been even greater if he had been able to secure the signings of Luis Suarez and Eden Hazard.

Redknapp expressed his belief that with Suarez and Hazard in the squad, Tottenham could have been genuine title contenders. He revealed that he had considered signing Suarez, who was a standout player at Liverpool at the time. Additionally, Redknapp shared that he had come extremely close to bringing Hazard to White Hart Lane, having spent three hours with him in a Paris hotel room.

Unfortunately for Tottenham, Suarez eventually joined Liverpool in January 2011 before moving on to Barcelona three years later. Hazard, on the other hand, signed for Chelsea in 2012, which coincided with Redknapp's departure from Spurs.

Reflecting on what could have been, Redknapp lamented the missed opportunities to sign these two exceptional players. He believed that with just one of them in the squad, Tottenham could have posed a serious challenge for the Premier League title. However, despite missing out on these signings, Redknapp's tenure at Tottenham still saw significant improvements for the club, and he remains proud of the progress they made during his time as manager.