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There are a lot of things that don't make sense to Harry Redknapp, from tactical subtlety to income taxes. After Loic Remy's transfer to Liverpool fell through due to a heart condition that made the player uninsurable, it appears medical conditions that cannot be identified by watching a player run around a bit can be added to that list.
"I don’t see how he has failed a medical," said Redknapp. "It doesn’t make sense. He had a stringent medical here, one at Marseille, one at Newcastle, and one with France before the World Cup. He’s never had a problem with his fitness. You could not meet a fitter lad. There can’t be any issue with his fitness."
Despite Redknapp's insistence that Remy looks a fit lad, previous reports suggest Remy's heart condition was a known issue. As a result, Liverpool would have needed to send the striker to a specialist in order to have the player insured following his signing. And if the specialist and Liverpool's insurer say no, there's little the club can do.
"I can’t see a medical reason," insisted Redknapp. "There must be other reasons. That is not possible. There has to be another reason. He has never failed a medical before. He’s never had a problem and didn’t miss a game at Newcastle. They must have changed their mind or decided to go in another direction."
Or it's possible that at past medicals there was less concern over Remy's heart condition and so the payer never went to a specialist. Given Newcastle and France wouldn't have been worried about insuring the player, it's a near certainty neither would have sent him to a heart specialist and would only have performed a cursory medical.
It's also possible his condition has worsened, or simply that—assuming QPR even sent him to a heart specialist when he arrived at the London club from Marseille—those earlier tests missed something. It's also possible Liverpool's insurer has set a different threshold for what they consider an insurable player, one Remy could never have cleared.
Redknapp can ramble all he likes about a player looking fit, but with a £8.5M transfer fee and a rumoured five-year, £80k a week deal in the works, the total cost to Liverpool would have been close to £30M—or nearly £6M a year. If the medical turned up something that made the player uninsurable, expecting Liverpool to do anything but back out is the height of foolishness.
"He will come back here," Redknapp added, trying to put a more positive spin on Remy's deal falling through due to health concerns and Liverpool's resulting inability to insure the player. "Their loss is our gain. I have got a fantastic striker capable of scoring 20 goals in the Premier League. If he is here we will be delighted to have him back."
As for Liverpool, with the Remy deal falling through, Brendan Rodgers and the transfer committee are already at work exploring alternate striker options on the market.
