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Harry Redknapp has shared the details of his biggest deadline day disaster, where former Nigeria forward Osaze Odemwingie arrived at QPR’s car park and was subsequently not allowed to complete his transfer from West Brom.
As the London club secretly battled to sign Odemwingie in the dying moments of the window, Redknapp told the striker to stay out of sight in a hotel near the stadium just in case the deal went through in time.
However, while QPR’s team frantically sorted out the transfer against the clock, Odemwingie misunderstood Redknapp’s orders and turned up at Loftus Road instead, welcomed by a glut of cameramen and reporters.
Sharing the anecdote, Redknapp told talkSPORT, “Probably the biggest disaster was when I was at QPR. We were going to sign the boy Odemwingie.
“We couldn’t get the deal done but we felt sure we’d get it.
“So, I said to him, “Look, get down here, if it’s not until nine or 10 we might be able to get the deal done. We hadn’t even spoken about money or wages with him. I said, ‘Drive down to QPR and put yourself in a hotel somewhere so that you’re close by.’
‘He didn’t. He went straight to the football ground, got out of the car, and there were cameras and everything. Oh my God, the journos went crazy and that was the end of the deal!”
After making the 125-mile trip from West Brom to QPR in 2013, Odemwingie was refused access by the west London club, who had yet to secure an agreement with the Baggies.
The Nigerian was left waiting around in the car park alongside reporters for the final moments of the deadline and ultimately never completed his move to Redknapp’s side.
Odemwingie finally left West Brom at the end of the campaign, joining Cardiff for a season before teaming up with Stoke the following year.