The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has been speaking about some of the ones that got away during his time at the north London club

Harry Redknapp has claimed that he almost signed Eden Hazard before he joined Chelsea and Patrick Vieira was willing to join Tottenham despite his Arsenal past.

Redknapp managed Spurs, the club where was played in the academy as a youngster, from 2008 to 2012 and took them to a couple of top four finishes and a run to the Champions League quarter-final. Now the 79-year-old has been speaking about some of the near misses in the transfer market during his time at the helm in north London.

"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, 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," said the former West Ham boss in a new episode of the Overlap Daily, sponsored by Sky Vegas.

When Redknapp was in charge of Tottenham, Vieira's time down the road at Arsenal had come to a close and he had played in Italy at Juventus and then Inter Milan. The midfielder would eventually return to the Premier League with Manchester City and Redknapp claimed that the now Senegal boss had been willing to cross the north London divide.

"That would have been a mind-blowing signing, really, when you look back on it. Patrick Vieira. I met Patrick at his house. He wanted to come. He was keen. It looked like he was going to come. I said to him, what bottle he had. He was a legend at Arsenal, and he was willing to go to Tottenham," he said.

"He was up for it, and then he got a better offer or whatever. I went to his house, sat in his house, had a cup of tea with him for two or three hours. He was keen. He'd been a great player at Arsenal, but he was willing to come and play at Tottenham. He wanted to. Otherwise, he wouldn't have met me that day. He was up for it."

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Of the current crop of Tottenham players, Redknapp has been impressed in particular by one youngster and believes Roberto De Zerbi will lead the club back up the table.

"I just think they've improved all round, really, haven't they? Every position. I still like the boy Archie Gray. He's been incredible, really, what he's done since he's been there. Right-back, centre-half. They even made him captain this year at one time. But I think the whole squad is a very strong squad. Top six, yeah," he said.

Tim Sherwood, who spent a few months as interim Spurs head coach, spoke about the current goings on at the club and the transfer business done for De Zerbi.

"I think it's a club that's unrecognisable from the old one. It's the same regime, but different management there at the moment. I've never seen a manager get that much money that early in the transfer window. And then he identifies the players he wants out of the club, and they let them go," said the 57-year-old.

"They gave them away. Djed Spence, really, gave him away. He just wanted them out because he wanted a dressing room which he felt was the best to win football matches. Now, they've spent nearly £400 million, surely not to finish 10th, and that's where they're looking at the moment. It's a massive upturn. I think the result at Old Trafford, that performance, getting that last-minute one, and they've picked up a few results since.

"Chelsea: no Tottenham manager goes to Chelsea and wins at that graveyard. That is a massive shot in the arm for him. I think that's the boost that's going to take them forward. It's been a good week for Tottenham, with Arsenal getting beat last night. Everything's positive. I think they'll beat Palace. Look at their games. They've got some real winnable games."