I was close to joining Tottenham, reveals QPR new-boy Loic Remy

Loic Remy has revealed that he was close to joining Tottenham two years ago when Harry Redknapp was still in charge of Spurs – but was priced out of a move by his club Marseille.

Remy signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday after joining from Marseille following his decision to turn down a rival offer from Newcastle United.

Harry Redknapp has been an admirer of the France midfielder for some time and tried to bring him to White Hart Lane in 2011.

But Remy, 26, revealed that the Ligue 1 club’s high asking price caused the transfer to fall through.

“It’s true that I was approached by Spurs when Harry Redknapp was in charge two years ago,” said Remy.

“Ultimately the stumbling block was financial; Marseille asked for too much money.

“But I was very surprised and very happy with the interest from Spurs at that time. It was a good opportunity to play in the Premier League and to play for a very good club.

“But now that’s all in the past and I’m just looking forward to my future at QPR.”

Redknapp admitted that he had no second thoughts about snapping up Remy for a reported £8m this week.

The QPR boss said: “I looked at him when I was at Tottenham but the price was very high at the time. I thought the level it came down to was a good price for a player of that quality.”