Redknapp: I haven’t watched Sandro prior to signing him

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admits he signed Sandro on the recommendation from chief scout Ian Broomfield.

The 21-year-old Brazilian was signed from Internacional for £6.5 million in March, and he is now set to be handed a debut when Spurs host Arsenal in the Carling Cup.

Harry Redknapp reserved a lot of praise for the Brazilian, albeit admitting he hadn’t had a chance to watch him in person prior to his move to White Hart Lane.

“He’s like Socrates. He looks like him, he runs like him. If he can play like him, we’ll be all right. He’s not a Robinho. He’s a big lad, he gets around the pitch, he can tackle, he can pass it and play.

“We’ll see whether Ian’s got a job on Wednesday,” joked Redknapp referring to chief scout Ian Broomfield. “He raved about him. I couldn’t get out to Brazil to see him because it was in the season.

‘We had loads of videos of him and we spoke to people in Brazil. We spoke to Dunga and got a fantastic report. There were two top Spanish clubs in for him. You don’t get into the Brazilian national squad if you’re a mug, do you? Wherever you go there are good Brazilians.”

[Source: Daily Mail]