Harry Redknapp met with Eden Hazard twice in an attempt to convince him to move to Tottenham rather than arch-rivals Chelsea in 2012, but the move fell through as the club refused to finance the deal.

The Belgian winger was among the highest-rated talents in Europe at the time as he tore up Ligue 1 with Lille, and subsequently was among the hottest properties on the transfer market at the end of the 2011/12 campaign.

Chelsea, then European champions, were the lucky winners in the race for his signature, spending just £32m, and he became a legend in west London. He left the club in 2019 to join Real Madrid in a nine-figure deal, having scored 110 goals and won a wealth of silverware.

But his career path might have looked very different. Tottenham were also in the running for the forward’s signature, and Redknapp has now revealed exactly how close the north London outfit came to signing Hazard.

Speaking on The Overlap Daily podcast, then-Spurs boss Redknapp revealed Chelsea great Joe Cole had spotted Hazard while on loan at Lille during the 2011/12 campaign and told him to look into a move.

Hazard met the Tottenham manager twice and was said to be keen on the move, but it fell through as Redknapp failed to convince Daniel Levy of his potential, despite being offered a cut-rate of just £18m.

Redknapp said: "Well, I met Eden Hazard. Joe Cole rang me. He was at Lille, and he said, 'I'm playing with the best player I've ever played with.'

“I went over and watched him, went back again the week after, and met him in a hotel room with his agent, and he wanted to come.

“But at the time, (Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy) and that didn't want to spend the money on him. I think it was about £18 million. He was cheap, but he was a player, a great young player."

Speaking in an interview on Belgian television in February 2012, Hazard said of Tottenham’s interest: "I have not signed anything at Tottenham. Maybe I will play there next season. It is a nice club with a lot of good players and absolutely a top coach."

Tottenham ultimately signed Emmanuel Adebayor as their sole attacking reinforcement that summer, agreeing a £5m deal with Manchester City for his services. Also signed in that window were Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen, Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembélé.

Adding insult to injury, Hazard went on to score some key goals for Chelsea against Tottenham. Most notable was the late equaliser in the Battle of the Bridge, which took Spurs out of the running for the 2015/16 Premier League title.

While at Chelsea, Hazard became a two-time Premier League winner, also picking up FA Cup and Europa League winner’s medals.

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