Harry Redknapp was interested in Connor Wickham over the summer, but says Ipswich's valuation of the youngster put him off making a move.
Spurs boss liked promising frontman, but price tag put him off
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was interested in Connor Wickham over the summer, but says Ipswich's valuation of the youngster put him off making a move.
With the England U21 international having taken giants strides at Portman Road, there was no shortage of Premier League interest in his services.
Spurs were among those to take a look at the highly-rated forward, with the teenager considered to be a hot prospect for the future.
Redknapp soon dropped out of the running, though, when he was told that Ipswich had set their asking price at £8million.
Sunderland eventually matched that valuation, in a deal which could rise to £12million, and Redknapp will come face-to-face with Wickham on Sunday when Sunderland travel to White Hart Lane.
"We kept looking at him. We watched him dozens of times and we liked him but we felt it was a lot of money for him," said the Spurs manager.
"We have young players here like Harry Kane. He is a bit younger, we like him and we didn't feel we wanted to pay that money for Wickham."
King
Meanwhile, a man at the opposite end of his career is also occupying Redknapp's thoughts at present.
Ledley King has surprised many by making nine appearances this season - seeing him match his return from last term.
He is, however, currently sidelined with yet another knee complaint and Redknapp admits he is unsure if he will be able to offer the England international fresh terms in the summer.
"He is going well but it depends how his knee goes between now and the end of the season," he said.
"When he is fit he is as good as anyone in the country but he needs to be playing 20 games a year otherwise it's difficult (to give him a new contract)."
