Harry Redknapp admits there was a player he ‘loved’ watching at Celtic whilst at West Ham.
The legendary English Premier League manager was the boss of The Hammers from 1994 and 2001 when he said he used to watch Celtic on TV just because of a player Tommy Burns signed at that time.
Celtic have had many players chase the Premier League dream and whilst this winger will never be classed as a Celtic legend, he was iconic in his own right.
However, the status amongst Celtic legends didn’t put Redknapp off as he shares what got him excited about signing former Celtic winger, Paolo Di Canio.
The ‘fantastic’ player that had Harry Redknapp watching Celtic
Di Canio is a controversial figure amongst the Celtic fans but as a player, he gave the Hoops support some great memories at Celtic Park.
Telling Gary Lineker about the ex-Hoops man, Redknapp waxed lyrical about Di Canio and how the Italian wowed him whilst at Celtic.
Redknapp told The Rest is Football, “He’s bonkers but he’s a genius. Yeah. He was fantastic, Gary.
“I used to love watching him play. I’d watched it on TV, Celtic. I’m watching Celtic play and he’s like a little kid in the playground.
“He’s taking throw-ins. He’s running around and wants to do everything. And then he obviously went to Sheffield Wednesday.
“We’d go to Sheffield Wednesday and he’d do things against us. I used to say, ‘Wherever he is in that final third, the nearest man, latch on to him. Do not leave him until we get possession back’.”
What Harry Redknapp was told after telling West Ham he wanted former Celtic man Paulo Di Canio
“I just thought he was so good,” continued Redknapp, “And then obviously when he pushed the referee over, Mr. Alcock, and he became available.
“I remember saying to Terry Brown, the chairman at West Ham, I said, ‘We’ve got to get a striker. We can’t score. We were struggling’. He said, ‘Yeah, Harry, we do we need somebody for sure’. You know, I said, ‘I want to get Paolo, take Paolo Di Canio’. I’ll never forget it.
“He went like, put his head in his hands, ‘Anybody but him. I don’t care who you say, please, not Di Canio’.
“I said, ‘He’s fantastic, Terry. He would be brilliant. The crowd would love him’.
“Oh, please, Harry. Anyway, he backed me to be fair and we bought him and he was a genius.”
Now 56, Di Canio will be remembered by Celtic fans as part of the famous ‘Three Amigos’ with Pierre Van Hoijdonk and Jorge Cadette making up the trio.
Di Canio scored 15 goals in 38 appearances for Celtic before leaving to join Sheffield Wednesday for £3m after just one season at the club.
Unfortunately, the Italian never won any silverware in his season at Celtic and many fans may look back at his time with a degree of a player who allowed his ego to get in the way of what could have been a glorious career in Paradise.
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