KEANE POISED TO HOLD TALKS WITH VILLA
Spurs striker wants to work for O'Neill
ROBBIE KEANE has been passed around more often than a spliff at a student party.
Sent from Wolves to Coventry as a teenager, headhunted by Inter Milan a year later, turfed out of the San Siro to join Leeds, then off to London to earn his Spurs in 2001, Keane, at 22, had not exactly shown patience as a young man.
But age doesn't seem to have settled him down either now that he is in the middle of his second great world tour.
Starting off from White Hart Lane in July 2008, Keane has taken in the sights of Liverpool, London (and Spurs again), Glasgow and now, as of this week, Aston Villa.
As things currently stand, Aston Villa and Tottenham are haggling over a transfer fee which could see the Ireland skipper overtake Nicolas Anelka and become the second most expensive footballer in history.
To do so, Villa would have to fork out £18million, well in excess of Keane's last transfer fee when he rejoined Spurs from Liverpool 18 months ago.
Yet it is unlikely they will do so because Martin O'Neill and Randy Lerner reckon Keane is comparable to a second-hand Jaguar - reliable, still classy, but not worth the original price because of high mileage.
Nonetheless, O'Neill reckons the 29-year-old is worth a punt, according to sources close to the Dubliner, who this week revealed:
* O'Neill made a bid for Keane on the last day of the January transfer window but was knocked back because the striker had already given his word to Celtic
* Keane has let it be known Villa is his preferred destination
* The striker will meet O'Neill this week for talks.
Publicly, though, it is a different story with Harry Redknapp insisting his former club captain still has a future at Tottenham and Keane too, claiming he is willing to hang around for another taste of Champions League football.
Keane said on Monday: "It's up to me now to go back to Tottenham, get myself in that team and stay in the team if I get that opportunity."
Yet bear in mind, similar noises were made by Redknapp and Keane in January, with the Spurs boss then claiming: "Robbie is the captain here and is very important to us. Please God he will be here in February."
The good Lord did not hear Redknapp's prayers, though, because by February 1, Keane was boarding a flight for Glasgow.
Bugbear
So let's not believe the spin that Keane will be a Tottenham player next season. The big surprise is if he's not a Villa one by the end of this week.
And a move to Villa Park should suit him. Firstly, because O'Neill, unlike so many of today's top managers, is not a firm believer in squad rotation - a huge bugbear of Keane's, who said, "for me, it is just about playing games".
That is something O'Neill can offer him, having used eight of his preferred starting X1 in over 30 league games last season, with his three other favourites Stewart Downing, James Collins and John Carew averaging 24 league starts between them.
And had Downing and Collins not been injured for huge chunks of the campaign, then that average would have increased.
Then again, it is also worth pointing out the one position O'Neill was prepared to regularly rotate was his striker, where Carew and Emile Heskey fought for his affections.
Interestingly, both those players are rumoured to be on the way out of Villa Park this summer - Fiorentina chasing Norwegian Carew and Wolves interested in Heskey.
Should Mick McCarthy's interest progress into a bid, then O'Neill may use Heskey as bait to land Kevin Doyle, another player he has flirted with in the past.
Yet fluttering his eyelids is one thing and making a firm approach another, and if there is one criticism of O'Neill's transfer-market activity, it is his policy of procrastination when quick decisions are required.
That's what Keane wants now. In need of a holiday after a topsy-turvy year when he "fell into a rut" following Ireland's World Cup exit, he knows that the next move of his career could be his last big one.
Villa's appeal to Keane stems firstly from O'Neill's personality, secondly from Lerner's ambition and most significantly, his chance to play regular Premier League football again.
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This article has 16 comments
matt wat are u on...a blunnose who whould love to be Villa - fact!
u are a small club Fact!
u had ur best season in 50 yrs and still how many point behind Villa? proves how better we ae Fact!
nice day Fact!
By dazza.. Posted May 30 2010 at 11:59 AM.
WHEN ARE THESE OVER THE HILL FOOTBALLERS GOING TO MAKE WAY FOR THE YOUNG PLAYERS HAVENT THE GOT ENOUGH MONEY.
By TOM.. Posted May 30 2010 at 11:03 AM.
I knew when he left Spurs the first time it was bye-bye Robbie.He had it all at Spurs the support was comfotable playing in the team scoring goals and regular first team football,but then he got greedy.
By michael campbell.. Posted May 30 2010 at 10:48 AM.
im a birmingham fan and think the vile should sign him as he wont b a great goalscorer for them. he looks decent in scotland because its like playing league 1 football. for the second year running they will lose their best player,are the vile becoming a selling club????
By matt.. Posted May 30 2010 at 10:45 AM.
His cost would be closer to the 5 million mark, no way is he worth 18 million even if the icelandic volcano blows out dollar bills !!
By Jones.. Posted May 30 2010 at 10:25 AM.
Itwould be great to have Keane. Villa do not terify defenders but he could. More important that we sign Scotty Parker as insurance for Millner leaving or a great partner.
By tony.. Posted May 30 2010 at 9:48 AM.
I heard Villa is his Boyhood Club! Cheerio Keano I lost my faith in you the day you joined that fat man in the Go Compare adverts and his merry men of LFC.
By scott world traveller.. Posted May 30 2010 at 9:07 AM.
god luck KEANO!! u will be missed!
By wedge13.. Posted May 30 2010 at 8:12 AM.
Keane has been rumored to go to Villa every season for the past 4 years and now he's on his last legs he might just give us a preference. Cheers Robbie that's nice of you. Be good to have him at Villa Park, at least he can score, but I doubt he's worth spending all our transfer budget on.
By Urban Turtle.. Posted May 30 2010 at 8:18 AM.
GET AS MUCH MONEY AS POSSIBLE AND LET HIM GO FOR GOOD. MET HIM AND HE IS UP HIS OWN. ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY AND HAS SUB ZERO LOYALY.
By ONMEEADSUN.. Posted May 30 2010 at 7:45 AM.
its time to let robbie move on lets hope its his last move, thanks for your efforts
By spurrrr.. Posted May 30 2010 at 7:20 AM.
Smithy, I wouldn't be too upset if I were you. Keane can't hack it in the PL any more. He'll score the odd goal, but his time has come and gone. He would have had hero status down at White Hart Lane had it not been for his defection to the scousers. A very silly boy who had ideas bigger than his actual talent. I look forward to seeing him pointing, shouting and trying to blame anyone but himself every time he loses the ball by being too slow.
By PointyShoutyBloke.. Posted May 30 2010 at 7:19 AM.
i would have thought robbie would be returning to his boyhood heroes celtic ,or does he declare any club who pays his wages his boyhood heroes.
By sc1511.. Posted May 30 2010 at 5:34 AM.
good old MON nice to see him sticking to his buy british and english policy is it any wonder he cant finish top 4 buying flat track bullys playing long ball footy?
By sally,london.. Posted May 30 2010 at 3:47 AM.
A Wolves fan who comes in peace, a great player just gutted our board are to tight and more interested in signing budget buys that after the watching Keane and Doyle play along side each other the other night have not brought them together.
By Smithy.. Posted May 30 2010 at 12:21 AM.
I hope he does join Villa, O'Neill is a class manager and will make him a better player (which will do Ireland the world of good as we can still have Keane at the next World Cup) Playing off Agbonlahor will be one of the partnerships of 2010/11.
By mu4eva.. Posted May 30 2010 at 12:05 AM.