Eden Hazard was keen to join Tottenham before Chelsea, reveals Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp has revealed he was close to bringing Eden Hazard to Tottenham before the Belgium international opted to sign for Chelsea.

Hazard joined the Blues three years ago in a £32million switch from French outfit Lille.

The 24-year-old was highly sought after with Manchester United also then interested in his services.

And writing in his column for the Evening Standard, Redknapp says he spoke directly with Hazard – during his time in charge of Spurs – about moving to White Hart Lane.

‘Joe Cole was on loan there [in 2012] from Liverpool during that season and he told me he was the best player he had ever played with,’ Redknapp says.

‘Me and Ian Broomfield, my chief scout, spent most of an afternoon with Hazard and his agent in a very nice hotel trying to convince the boy to come.

‘He was keen to move to London and Tottenham was a good fit for him but once you get that far, you then rely on other people to finish it off. In this case, it didn’t happen. Money was probably the issue.’

Despite talks with Redknapp, Hazard decided to settle in west rather than north London – where he has proven a hit.

After a bright first season was bettered by the where he finished as Chelsea’s top scorer and won the club’s Player of the Year award, as well as the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Things got even better after last season which ended with five high-profile individual accolades, the Premier League title and the Capital One Cup.

By Luke Augustus

Follow @Luke_Augustus29

This image was provided by Liga Olahraga.