Harry Redknapp has revealed how close Tottenham Hotspur came to beating Chelsea to Eden Hazard, who evolved into one of the greatest players in Premier League history at Stamford Bridge.Hazard was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham ahead of the summer transfer window in 2012, but it was Chelsea who won the race to snap him up from Lille.The Belgian went on to become one of the Blues’ biggest modern-day legends, helping the club to two Premier League titles and proving to be a thorn in Tottenham’s side on many occasions.From the outside, it felt at the time that Spurs’ failure to qualify for the Champions League despite finishing 4th (as Chelsea won the competition in 2012) swayed the Belgian to move to West London.However, Redknapp has now revealed that the reason the winger’s move to N17 fell through actually had something to do with Daniel Levy.Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesHarry Redknapp claims former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy failed to pay up for Eden HazardSpeaking to Belgian television back in 2012, Hazard had even openly expressed a willingness to sign for the North London club.The winger said at the time (via The Standard): “I have not signed anything at Tottenham. Maybe I will play there next season. It is a nice club with a lot of good players and absolutely a top coach.”Redknapp has now shared that he even had a personal meeting with Hazard after Joe Cole, who was then at Lille, alerted him to the player’s quality.The former Tottenham manager shared that the Lilywhites could have signed the pacy winger for just £18m, but Daniel Levy refused to sanction the deal.Redknapp said on his latest appearance on The Overlap Daily: “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, (Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy) 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.”Hazard’s agent claimed he rejected Spurs for lack of assurances about Gareth Bale and Luka ModricRedknapp’s version of events contrasts sharply with that of the Chelsea legend’s former agent, John Bico, who indicated that the failed Spurs move did not have anything to do with finances.Back in 2021, Hazard’s former representative revealed Tottenham failed to give assurances that Gareth Bale and Luka Modric would stay, which is why his client turned down the move.Bico said at the time: “You have to remember that Tottenham at the time played the best football in England and even in Europe. The team was exceptional: Walker, Parker, Modric, Bale, Defoe.“Except Daniel Levy was too honest to guarantee that Bale and Modric were going to stay. If Bale and Modric had stayed, Eden would have gone to Tottenham.”Modric would leave to join Madrid the same summer, and Bale would join the midfielder at Los Blancos 12 months later.READ MORE: Bayern CEO reveals Harry Kane is close to new contract amid Tottenham clause rumourThe post Harry Redknapp blames Daniel Levy for Tottenham failing to sign £18m world beater appeared first on Spurs Web.