Harry Redknapp: I loved the summer sales but Andres D’Alessandro and Noe Pamarot were my real transfer steals

Remember you were told the transfer window would be quiet this summer because so many clubs were still struggling after the pandemic?

Well they must have found a lot of spare change on the back of the sofa as the Premier League alone had more than spent £1.5BILLION Come Thursday deadline.

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Some of these have already become huge successes and Erling Haaland looks like the best deal that has ever been made – or will be for a long time.

We already knew he was something special. But already two hat tricks and nine goals? That’s just ridiculous.

Gabriel Jesus got off to a flying start at Arsenal, I love Marc Cucurella, the left-back Chelsea signed and Wesley Fofana is a great centre-back – albeit at a price.

But as a manager, getting someone for peanuts is unbeatable, and he turns out to be a real diamond.

Especially if they weren’t really on your radar to begin with.

I’ve been fortunate to find a few players like that over the years but the one who really stands out was a guy I loaned out to Portsmouth after being told we didn’t stand a chance.

I first met Andres D’Alessandro five years ago when I was at West Ham watching Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand for England U20 against Argentina.

They had that little number 10 who was the best player on the pitch.

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Frank told me that he was afraid to approach him because he got nutmeg every time he got too close to him.

At the time Joe Cole was coming through, who was the best schoolboy I’d ever seen, and the chairman didn’t want to spend £3m or £4m on another child, so nothing happened.

But in 2006 I met an agent named Barry McIntosh who was taking care of the boy and asked for a loan because he went to Wolfsburg because of the big money and we couldn’t afford it.

Barry laughed about it… but a few weeks later he called and said it could happen.

So we brought him in on January 31st and what a move that was.

When D’Alessandro showed up, it was pouring rain and Fratton Park was ankle-deep in mud.

He was just a skinny kid with scrawny little legs and the next day we played Bolton.

I told the staff I was going to put it right in and they thought I was crazy.

He had a blinder, got a standing ovation and has kept us going this season.

Mind you, there were a few others that were brilliant for us too.

One I never thought of.

I wanted to sign Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis from Spurs and Daniel Levy also threw in Noe Pamarot.

It was like buying two and getting one free…all for £7million.

We were in trouble right away when these people arrived, and in the end we survived.

It’s great when you take a risk and it pays off… but it’s not always the way to go.

It still makes me cringe when I think back to the time I was looking to sign Peter Odemwingie for QPR and West Brom were playing hard ball.

The deadline was only a few hours away and we still hadn’t discussed the terms, so I told him to come over to London if we could get something sorted out quickly.

I thought he was checking into a hotel near the bottom…I certainly didn’t expect him to be parked around the corner, with TV cameras everywhere.

That was it as far as his commitment is concerned. I’ve seen him a few times since then and he’s a lovely boy… it just wasn’t the smartest place he’s ever parked the car!

IT’S ONLY A BEGINNING, ART

THERE IS There is no doubt Arsenal are off to a great start and they seem best placed to make the most of it when Chelsea continue to drop stupid points.

But I’m not going to jump on the bandwagon of those who are already saying they’re ready for a top four finish. At least not yet.

Yes, they’ve done well so far, but only against sides you think would roll over them. And in some cases just through the skin of their teeth.

Let’s see how Arsenal handle a real test and there’s no doubt that today’s game at Manchester United is a big one.

Complete this one with flying colors and a few more, and it’s time to celebrate. Until then, just leave the cork in the bottle, eh.

RICH IS IN

IF Spurs signed Richarlison. I was worried about what his attitude would be like if he wasn’t on the team.

And with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min around, he wouldn’t be.

But at the moment he’s a powerhouse coming off the bench and the Nottingham Forest keep-up deal is just his path.

A couple of Forest guys had already tried booting him before he started taking the mick and that was his way of saying “Sod ’em!”

Although if he had tried that against Stuart Pearce they would have picked him up from the back of the stands.

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