Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are considering offering Robbie Keane an escape route from Anfield – but Liverpool will not sanction a move across Stanley Park for the player.
With Everton in the market for a striker and Keane out of favour, speculation has been growing that David Moyes could be planning an audacious loan swoop for the Irish international whom he targeted during his time at White Hart Lane.
But Anfield chiefs would not allow such a high profile recent signing to join their rivals – and the Goodison Park outfit would also have to break their pay structure to afford any move.
A more likely destination for Keane remains Eastlands or a return to his former employers in north London.
Manchester City have yet to make a formal approach for Keane but club officials insist their interest is genuine.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp arrived at White Hart Lane after Keane’s £20million departure to Anfield and while he publicly claimed yesterday that he sees any move for the player as being unrealistic, he is likely to move if City make a bid.
Redknapp said: “I wouldn’t sit here and say I wouldn’t like to have Robbie Keane at my football club, I’d be a liar, but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option unfortunately.
“As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie Keane. I think he’s fantastic.”
Boyhood Liverpool fan Keane’s dream move to Anfield has become something of a nightmare as he has completed 90 minutes in just five of his 27 appearances to date.
A lacklustre display in the Premier League derby encounter at Anfield eight days ago ended prematurely for the much-travelled frontman as he was hauled off by Rafael Benitez midway through the second half – the 18th time he has been substituted in 23 starts for the club.
Keane was not even included in Benitez’s 18-man squad for Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Everton with young French striker David Ngog preferred to him on the substitutes’ bench but speculation that he had stormed off following the decision is not true.
Benitez admitted in the post-match press conference that he had not spoken to Keane since he dropped him but this was because all players not included in the squad were given the day off and the 28-year-old was back in training with his team-mates yesterday.
With Everton in the market for a striker and Keane out of favour, speculation has been growing that David Moyes could be planning an audacious loan swoop for the Irish international whom he targeted during his time at White Hart Lane.
But Anfield chiefs would not allow such a high profile recent signing to join their rivals – and the Goodison Park outfit would also have to break their pay structure to afford any move.
A more likely destination for Keane remains Eastlands or a return to his former employers in north London.
Manchester City have yet to make a formal approach for Keane but club officials insist their interest is genuine.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp arrived at White Hart Lane after Keane’s £20million departure to Anfield and while he publicly claimed yesterday that he sees any move for the player as being unrealistic, he is likely to move if City make a bid.
Redknapp said: “I wouldn’t sit here and say I wouldn’t like to have Robbie Keane at my football club, I’d be a liar, but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option unfortunately.
“As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie Keane. I think he’s fantastic.”
Boyhood Liverpool fan Keane’s dream move to Anfield has become something of a nightmare as he has completed 90 minutes in just five of his 27 appearances to date.
A lacklustre display in the Premier League derby encounter at Anfield eight days ago ended prematurely for the much-travelled frontman as he was hauled off by Rafael Benitez midway through the second half – the 18th time he has been substituted in 23 starts for the club.
Keane was not even included in Benitez’s 18-man squad for Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Everton with young French striker David Ngog preferred to him on the substitutes’ bench but speculation that he had stormed off following the decision is not true.
Benitez admitted in the post-match press conference that he had not spoken to Keane since he dropped him but this was because all players not included in the squad were given the day off and the 28-year-old was back in training with his team-mates yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment