Redknapp admits Ruddy almost joined Birmingham

Former Birmingham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed that he almost signed John Ruddy on a free transfer from Norwich.

Redknapp claims that he was bringing Ruddy in before the club opted against the deal and signed David Stockdale on a free from Brighton instead.

Ruddy was out of contract at the time, after Norwich decided to release him and Ryan Bennett in the summer of 2017.

The pair both ended up at Wolves, where they won promotion to the Premier League and are now competing in the top half of the table – although Bennett is the only regular starter.

However, things could have been very different for Ruddy – had he joined Redknapp at Birmingham that summer.

Speaking to The Guardian, Redknapp said this about his transfer window at Birmingham:

I don’t think any of the signings were mine. I was taking [John] Ruddy on a free transfer from Norwich and instead they brought in David Stockdale from Brighton. The director of football [Jeff Vetere] wasn’t brought in by me either.