HAZARD
The Belgian caught the eye of Harry Redknapp - the then Spurs boss - in
2012.
Hazard had burst on to the scene with Lille as a teenager while he'd
also made waves at international level.
Belgium called Hazard up to make his debut as a 17-year-old and he was
one of the most in-demand young players on the planet.
Tottenham were desperate to sign him and Redknapp held
talks with Hazard in a Paris hotel.
But it was Chelsea who won the race to get him after winning the
Champions League.
Redknapp revealed in his new book 'It Shouldn't Happen to a Football
Manager': "I went to Lille to watch Eden Hazard three times when I was
Tottenham manager.
“And, although we spent several
hours speaking to him at a hotel in Paris, it was mega money and we could not
quite persuade him once Chelsea reached the Champions League - by somehow
beating Barcelona and Bayern Munich to win it in 2012.
“You could immediately see that there was something special about him
and, as a winger, he is almost a throwback in many ways.
“He has that ability to go from standing still to suddenly
accelerating, which is something that is quire rare, but which a lot of the
best wingers could do.Hazard when he was at Lille
“He reminded me a little bit of the great Jimmy Johnstone at Celtic.
“Like Jimmy, Hazard would also slow people down but still keep the ball
and then suddenly go and leave the full-back for dead.
“We had no doubts that he could develop into one of the world’s best
players.”
No comments:
Post a Comment