Mike Ashley offered Harry Redknapp a private jet to training every day to tempt him to join Newcastle whilst living on the south coast

Harry Redknapp has revealed that former Newcastle owner Mike Ashley once offered him a private jet to and from training every day in order to land the in-demand manager.

Redknapp was top of Ashley’s wishlist at the time, having just guided Portsmouth to a surprise FA Cup win against Cardiff in 2008.

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Newcastle had recently parted ways with Sam Allardyce, and were a year into the Ashley tenure which began with far more hope than how it ended.

The retail magnate was flush with cash at the time and looking to back his new purchase, going as far as paying for a daily private jet in order to secure his top coaching candidate.

the offer nearly tempted him to join the club and still commute from his luxury home in Sandbanks on the south coast.

“What they told me was very, very tempting,” Redknapp said. “Not least because, regardless of the flat they’d have got me, they were prepared to lay on a private plane from Bournemouth airport at 7am every morning.

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“Then, about five o’clock, they would fly me back home if I didn’t want to stay up, so I could still live down here if I wanted to.

“I must admit, I gave it really serious consideration and at one stage it was very much, ‘Why not?’”

Redknapp eventually turned down the offer, instead staying in Portsmouth, but only until October when he then moved to Tottenham.

The now 74-year-old enjoyed success at Spurs, taking them into the Champions League, and was regularly linked with the England job.

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However, Redknapp’s career path could have been very different had he accepted the job in the north east, but one factor made him decide against it.

“It’s such a massive club, with a massive fan base, and has always had massive potential,” he explained.

“But the more I thought of it, the more I didn’t think it could work. As soon as we lost a few, the Geordies would be going off their heads at me flying up and down the country each day.

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“I really didn’t fancy the prospect of that, so in the end I said no… but there’s no doubt I was really swayed for a time, because it really is a fantastic club.”

Redknapp announced his retirement from management in 2017 following short spells at Birmingham and the Jordan national team.

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