Harry Redknapp made plenty of memorable signings during his managerial career, but there were also some huge names that he narrowly missed out on.

The 79-year-old made his name at Bournemouth and then West Ham, with two spells at Portsmouth and a high profile stint in charge of Tottenham, among other gigs.

It was an epic career in the dugout which lasted from October 1983 with the Cherries to September 2017 when a short stint with Birmingham City ended.

Looking back on his time as a boss, three failed deals stick out as ones that got away from him, starting with Arsenal legend Ian Wright way back when he was in charge of Bournemouth in the mid-1980s.

‘I missed Ian Wright when Carl Richards told me his mate wanted a trial at Bournemouth,’ Redknapp said on Overlap Daily.

‘I signed Carl Richards for 10 grand from Enfield, came in pre-season and he was so bad I’d never seen anything like it.

‘He came up to me and asked if his mate could have a trial. I said, “What position does he play, Carl?” He says, “Striker, same as me.” I said, “Is he as good as you, Carl?” He went, “No, he ain’t as good as me.” I said, “In that case, tell him to f**K off!”‘

More than two decades later when Redknapp was in charge of Spurs, he came close to snapping up two players who also became Premier League icons.

‘I met Eden Hazard,’ recalls Redknapp. ‘Joe Cole rang me when he was at Lille and said, “I’m playing with the best player I’ve ever played with!”

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‘I went over, met him in a hotel room, went to watch him, met his agent and he wanted to come, but at the time Daniel [Levy] wouldn’t spend the money, I think it was about £18 million, he wasn’t cheap but he was a great young player.’

On what may have been the most controversial transfer of his career, Redknapp recalled: ‘That would have been a mind-blowing signing when you look back on it. Patrick Vieira to take to Tottenham. I met Patrick at his house. He wanted to come, he was keen.

‘It looked like he was going to come. What bottle he had, he was a legend at Arsenal and was willing to go to Tottenham. He was up for it, but he got a better offer or whatever. I sat in his house and had a cup of tea with him!’

The proposed move for Vieira was in 2009 when the Frenchman was playing for Inter, with Redknapp saying at the time: ‘What’s he done wrong? He hasn’t killed anyone. He’s just a great player who played for Arsenal.

‘If he wants to come to Tottenham, it shows you about his character. He wants to come and play, he’s a fantastic player and wants to play here.’

Obviously Vieira never crossed the north London divide and instead signed for Manchester City in January 2010, finishing his career at the club.