Chelsea beating Tottenham to Gary Cahill was one of Harry Redknapp’s biggest regrets
Jamie Redknapp has revealed father Harry's big regret at losing out on Gary Cahill to Chelsea during his time as Tottenham boss.
Redknapp Sr was in charge at Spurs for four years between 2008-12 and took a strong interest in Cahill following the latter's impressive individual displays for Bolton Wanderers against his side during the 2010-11 Premier League season.
Manchester United were also linked with a player who would have been out of contract at Bolton that summer, though it was eventually Chelsea that sealed his signature in a £7million deal in January 2012 after a delay in agreeing personal terms.
Cahill - who also earned 61 senior international caps for England - subsequently spent a hugely successful seven-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, winning eight trophies including two Premier League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and a pair of Europa League crowns.
He made 291 appearances in total for Chelsea and succeeded John Terry as captain in 2017 before eventually being released and joining Crystal Palace on a two-year contract last summer.
However, things may have turned out very differently for Cahill, had Harry Redknapp succeeded in bringing the committed centre-back to White Hart Lane.
"I went to one of those games against Tottenham [for Bolton] and I remember my dad saying afterwards: 'I've got to sign him, he's different class.' Then you went to Chelsea," Jamie Redknapp told Cahill in a video call for the Daily Mail.
He added: "I know for a fact one of my dad's big regrets is missing out on you."
Cahill then revealed that he did have an initial chat with Redknapp Sr about a potential move to Tottenham, only for discussions to fizzle out.
"I remember having a conversation with your dad about going there, but it never materialised," he said.
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