Harry Redknapp: We could have had Sessegnon, Ben Arfa

Stephane Sessegnon and Craig Gardner
© PA Photos
Harry Redknapp has revealed that Stephane Sessegnon and Hatem Ben Arfa could have been Tottenham Hotspur players.

The 65-year-old said that he watched the Sunderland midfielder while he was at Paris Saint-Germain but did not make a move for the Benin international as his scouts were "not convinced".

"We could have had Sessegnon at one time, I think," London24 quotes Redknapp as saying. "The people who work for me weren't really convinced at the time. They were watching him and they didn't feel that he was any better than what we had, in all honesty.

"Do I regret not taking Sessegnon? Not really. He's a good little player, but I've got Van der Vaart. You're just going to cause yourself a bigger problem."

Redknapp also said that he "probably" could have captured Newcastle United star Hatem Ben Arfa.

"The boy at Newcastle's a good player as well, he's a talent, Ben Arfa," added Redknapp. "He's similar, another good little dribbler. We probably could have had him as well, but you can't take everyone can you? You end up with dozens of players hanging around, and we've got good players here anyway so he might not have got in our team."

Sessegnon moved to Sunderland in last year's January transfer window, while Ben Arfa made his loan switch to Newcastle permanent last summer.
Tables
TeamPGDPTS
1Manchester United384389
2Manchester City383278
3Chelsea383675
4Arsenal383573
5Tottenham Hotspur382072
6Everton381563
7Liverpool382861
8West Bromwich Albion38-449
9Swansea City38-446
10West Ham United38-846
11Norwich City38-1744
12Fulham38-1043
13Stoke City38-1142
14Southampton38-1141
15Aston Villa38-2241
16Newcastle United38-2341
17Sunderland38-1339
RWigan Athletic38-2636
RReading38-3028
RQueens Park Rangers38-3025