‘John Terry can be manager of Birmingham City in a couple of years if he wants to play for me!’ – Harry Redknapp discusses Chelsea legend on talkSPORT
Harry Redknapp says it ‘would be a dream’ to sign John Terry and has told the Chelsea legend: “You can be manager of Birmingham in a couple of years if you come and play for me!”
The former England captain is ending his 22-year association with the Premier League champions and he has previously stated his wish to continue his playing career.
Terry scored in what could be his final Stamford Bridge appearance in the Blues’ 4-3 win over Watford, clearly emotional as he celebrated with his team-mates, and later hinted at possible retirement.
But Redknapp hopes otherwise. The 70-year-old, who recently signed a one-year deal to stay as Birmingham boss after helping them steer clear of relegation from the Championship, would ‘love’ to have a chat with one of the Premier League’s best ever defenders.
“That [bringing Terry to St Andrew’s] would be a dream,” Redknapp told Jim White on talkSPORT.
“I love John, I’m a great fan of his but I would think John would have a lot of big clubs, Premier clubs, after him.
“He would be fantastic, that would be a dream to sign John Terry. You’ve got a leader - what a man - I think he is fantastic still.
“That’s the dream but I doubt very much whether it would happen.”
Harry Redknapp: The 70-year-old helped Birmingham avoid relegation
Terry has been linked with a number of clubs in England and overseas as he plots his next move.
A move to the south coast with Bournemouth has been mooted, while Chinese Super League clubs are also said to be monitoring the centre-back.
Redknapp continued: “I would love to speak to John and if he felt maybe he would like the idea of it for a couple of years and it was something that interested him then it would be fantastic.
“But as I say, I am sure there will be Premier League clubs queuing up for John.”
On a possible dual role coaching as well as playing in the West Midlands, Redknapp said: “I think he’d want to play at the moment, it is difficult. I think it is hard enough concentrating on playing and then you start coaching and end up caught between.
“I think he wants to play another year or two and I think eventually he’ll go into management somewhere. That’s a possibility. He can be manager of Birmingham in a couple of years if he wants to come and play for me!”
Listen to Harry Redknapp's interview with Jim White on talkSPORT in full, above, as he chats John Terry, Birmingham City and more...