Harry Redknapp would be open to a return to West Ham as sporting director in a partnership with Rio Ferdinand as manager.

The Hammers are currently managerless, having not renewed Sam Allardyce's contract, and an audacious bid to bring Sevilla boss Unai Emery to Upton Park failed last week.

The 68-year-old Redknapp, who left his role as Queens Park Rangers boss in April, managed West Ham for seven years and brought Ferdinand through from the academy before selling him to Leeds for £18m in 2000.

And he then took Ferdinand to QPR after his contract with Manchester United expired last summer before Ferdinand retired from football at the age of 36 earlier this month, after making just 12 appearances in all competitions.

In an interview with Kicca, Redknapp said: "I’d like to see him as manager of West Ham. I’d go with him as director of football - that would be a good partnership.

"I’d love to see him get the opportunity somewhere. He’s young and enthusiastic, and there have been a lot of lads who have gone straight into management. Gary Monk’s done fantastic at Swansea, for example.

"Rio's doing his coaching badges and has got a great football brain. I used to talk to him a lot at QPR, he’d be on the bench and I’d ask his opinion, and he always had good ideas and read the game well."

Redknapp also suggested Paolo Di Canio, who was sacked by Sunderland in September 2013 and has not returned to management since, could be a good appointment as the new West Ham boss.

"I’m also a Di Canio fan and I’d like to see him go back to West Ham," he said.

"I know everybody’s slaughtered him but he was fantastic at Swindon. I spoke to a lad who played under him at Swindon, Bournemouth's Matt Ritchie, and he said he was fantastic to play for.

"He had a great start at Sunderland but it’s been a hard place to succeed. Martin O’Neill, Steve Bruce, one after the other, they’ve all had a crack at it.

"Paulo set high standards with the way he wanted players to behave, live, train, eat and a lot of players don’t want to be as dedicated as he was to the game."