This ex-Premier League star has claimed Harry Redknapp once called him up in a similar fashion to Peter Odemwingie’s infamous 2013 deadline day car park saga
Joleon Lescott says he nearly found himself in a Peter Odemwingie-style nightmare after receiving a phone call from Harry Redknapp. With the transfer window now closed, no January deadline day would be complete without recalling Odemwingie’s infamous 2013 car park blunder.
The then-West Brom striker was famously recorded outside QPR’s stadium on the final day of the January window 11 years ago, desperately hoping for a move despite no deal being finalised. What followed was a legendary interview with Sky Sports News before the transfer collapsed entirely.
Since then, ex-QPR manager Redknapp has admitted he rang Odemwingie and instructed him to travel to London. However, Redknapp maintains he told the striker to book into a hotel and was stunned when he turned up at Loftus Road after a communication breakdown.
You can listen to brand new episodes of In The Mixer on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
Former Manchester City defender Lescott has now revealed that Redknapp once contacted him in similar circumstances. But he declined Redknapp’s request to make the journey south.
“He [Odemwingie] got a phone call from Harry. I’ve had one of those phone calls and refused to go down. No chance,” Lescott said on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet.
“I was in the car with my brother, and the phone rings. I said, ‘Hello?’ He went, ‘Hi. It’s Harry, and we’ve just agreed a fee…’ I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’
“I didn’t even know I was available! I was like, ‘No. I’m all right. I ain’t coming down.’ I called my agent. He had sorted that out. I was like, ‘Don’t do that again. Phone me first so I can save the embarrassment.'”
Following Odemwingie’s fiasco, there were whispers about what exactly transpired. Redknapp himself shared his version of events on talkSPORT three years later.
“Probably the biggest disaster was when I was at QPR. We were going to sign Odemwingie,” he recalled. “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, everyone went crazy, and that was the end of the deal!”
JOHN CROSS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE : Subscribe now to be the first to watch the latest episodes of In The Mixer and other original shows, brought to you by Sky Bet. Watch All Out Football’s episode w ith John Cross here .