I played for Chelsea and asked Ian Wright to sign for us. It happens and maybe Jude Bellingham has spoken to Trent Alexander-Arnold about Real Madrid.
When a club really wants a particular player, it can sometimes be best to turn to his teammates for a little chat with him.
That certainly happened in Chelseawhen former manager Bobby Campbell was desperate to sign a youngster Ian Wright.
The forward was on a roll. crystal Palace in 1990, when Campbell asked Andy Townsend to speak to Wright and try to convince him to move to Stamford Bridge, and it almost worked.
Townsend told talkSPORT Drive: “It's quite natural for clubs, when a particular team has a player they like, you know, they ask you to do a bit of the dirty work.
“You're asked to find out about certain players. I'll never forget the one that got away, so to speak. Bobby Campbell, may he rest in peace, the Chelsea manager.
“I remember when Wrighty was at Palace and he really wanted to go somewhere else. He made the right decision, he went to… Arsenal where he won things.
“I remember Bobby Campbell saying to me, 'I'm desperate to sign Ian Wright'. I remember one time, as we were coming off the pitch at Selhurst Park, I spoke to Wrighty and asked him, 'Would you come to Chelsea?' And Wrighty said, 'Yes, I would!'
“Whether or not he had done it, I'm sure a lot of people would have talked to Wrighty at the time. But that kind of thing happens.”
Instead, Wright joined Arsenal, where he became a club legend, scoring 185 goals which made him second on the all-time list, behind Thierry Henry.
Today he is a much-loved television pundit and won the Premier League and FA Cup double under Arsene Wenger in 1998, as well as two FA Cups, the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
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Townsend spoke to talkSPORT about Real Madrid interest in Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jude BellinghamHis England team-mate is a key player there and it would not be surprising if it emerged that he simply asked his friend if he would like to join him at the Bernabeu.
There has been no suggestion that this has happened, but the two have struck up a friendship, which was evident again during Euro 2024.
Alexander-Arnold has been linked with a possible exit after entering the final year of his contract.
The right-back has not given any indication as to whether he wants to stay or not, and he is not the only one.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk They are also in the final year of their contracts and their future is unclear.
Liverpool He could still decide to take advantage of the trio, which would arm the new boss. Arne's Slot with money in the transfer market to sign their own players.
However, the Reds have not made any transfer or contract business so far, with the only changes being the departures of Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara and Adrian after their contracts expired last month and the loan exit of Calvin Ramsay to Wigan.
