Harry Redknapp reveals how close he came to signing an Arsenal icon and a Chelsea legend during his managerial stint at Tottenham.

Sol Campbell’s transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal in the summer of 2001 stands as one of the most infamous crossings of the north London divide.

The centre-back gave fans the impression that he was going to stay at the club as his deal ran down, before signing for Spurs’ bitter rivals Arsenal on a free.

That act of betrayal has still not been forgotten by many Tottenham fans, who made their feelings clear throughout the rest of his playing career, with taunts of “Judas” ringing around White Hart Lane whenever Campbell returned following his move.

The Lilywhites have yet to get their revenge on Arsenal in that regard, having never lured one of the Gunners’ best players at the peak of their powers, but Redknapp has revealed that it was not too far away from happening.

Harry Redknapp reveals Tottenham move for Arsenal icon Patrick Vieira

Speaking on The Overlap Daily, the former Spurs manager revealed just how close he was to getting Arsenal icon Patrick Vieira to sign for Spurs.

This came after Vieira had left Arsenal and had stints with Juventus and Inter Milan. The current Senegal boss was 33 when he left Inter, and at the time he was open to a Tottenham move despite being an Arsenal legend.

Redknapp said: “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 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.”

This is particularly interesting given how adored Vieira is at Arsenal. The Frenchman was at the heart of much of the Gunners’ success during his time at the club, famously captaining the Invincibles in the 2003/04 season.

He won three league titles, two domestic doubles and four FA Cups, and was included in the PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive seasons. Given his stature as an Arsenal legend, a move to Spurs would have handed Tottenham fans the ultimate bragging rights after the Campbell saga.

The move obviously did not materialise, with Vieira instead joining Manchester City.

Redknapp missed out on Hazard as Spurs refused to pay £18million

But the Frenchman was not the only player Redknapp had his eye on during his time in charge of Tottenham, which ran from 2008 to 2012.

He also revealed that he had been keen on Chelsea icon Eden Hazard while the Belgian was at Lille, going to watch him after a phone call from Joe Cole.

However, that move fell through as former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was not willing to pay the £18million demanded by the French side.

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, 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.”