QPR boss Harry Redknapp says Adel Taarabt can be as good as Paolo Di Canio

Adel Taarabt: Queens Park Rangers playmaker celebrates after scoring against Fulham

Harry Redknapp has compared Adel Taarabt to Paolo Di Canio and believes he has the ability to reach the very top.

The Moroccan netted both goals as Queens Park Rangers registered their first victory of the season on Saturday with a 2-1 triumph over west London rivals Fulham.

And the recently installed manager Redknapp has high hopes for Taarabt: "He's like Di Canio who I thought was a fantastic player, one of the all-time greats at West Ham.

"This boy is the same. He can do things that nobody else can do. No one can do what he can do. He's amazing.

"He wasn't a player I ever wanted to release. And he's grown up a bit now, he's better than he was. He was a complete fruitcake at Tottenham."
Harry Redknapp

"He nutmegs people and he goes past two or three and they're hanging on to him but they can't get the ball off him."

Redknapp also said he did not want to sell Taarabt while manager at Tottenham Hotspur.

The attacking midfielder spent three years at White Hart Lane and Redknapp added: "He can be a top, top player but we always felt that when he was at Tottenham.

"When I let him go, he used to come back and I'd say to him 'you're making me look a fool, Adel!'

"I keep seeing you on telly, you're worth 20 million, I sold you too cheap.

"But I never wanted to let him go at Tottenham, I was scared to let him go. I always felt he had a value even if he wasn't starting.

"He could still come off the bench and turn a game for you and in the end (chairman) Daniel (Levy) said 'look, if he's not going to play, we might as well sell him and get a big sell-on fee' and that's what the club did.

"He wasn't a player I ever wanted to release. And he's grown up a bit now, he's better than he was. He was a complete fruitcake at Tottenham."

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