“I was out shopping in London with my wife the other day and we met Wilson and his mum,” Redknapp said. “She couldn’t speak English but through someone else who was there she told me she’s come all the way to England to watch him play and I haven’t been playing him. I just said: ‘Don’t worry Mrs Palacios, he’ll play, he’ll play.'”

It may well be that behind every midfield strongman is a maternal enforcer, but a few months ago Redknapp would not have needed any persuasion to pick Palacios. After joining from Wigan for £12m in January 2009, the Honduras international became a regular in Spurs’ central midfield, bringing power and dynamism to a position where Tottenham had long been considered flimsy. He became a seemingly indispensable member of the team.

“He turned us around when he came,” Redknapp said. “I remember when he got sent off against Blackburn [in April 2009] thinking, ‘Well, that’s our season finished’ – he was that important.”…continue sports news article here.