Liverpool are reportedly set to sign striker Robbie Keane, although Tottenham will demand around £20million for the Republic of Ireland international.
According to the Liverpool Echo the deal could be completed in the next 48 hours after Spurs boss Juande Ramos admitted he may need to balance the books.
The former Leeds and Coventry forward is believed to be desperate for a dream move to Anfield and Ramos' comments at a pre-season training camp in Spain appeared to suggest Keane and Dimitar Berbatov could be on their way.
He said: "We will see what happens there, but we are talking about two very important players.
"For the moment they are with us, but whatever happens the idea is to have a great squad, with the potential to allow us to aim to improve on what we managed last season.
"We have to be realistic and see what we are starting with and who we are competing against.
"There are some big clubs who have spent a lot of money over many years and have a certain advantage. In fact they claim they want to sign some of our players.
"At Tottenham, we have had a clear philosophy regarding buying and selling for years. The idea is signing young players, promising and talented ones, and if important offers for older players are made, studying it to see what is the best for the club."
Keane is valued in the region of £20m having only cost Spurs £7m in 2002 but Liverpool will try to get that figure down.
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Comment 16 - 35 of 35
Good signing if it happens for Liverpool, Keane is proven Premiership class and can link midfield and attack, he's the perfect foil for Torres.
i cant see ns getting keane or barry only reason going for barry is steve g save money and buy a world class striker like eto or villa they will get you 20 goals a season or more and they will help to release steve g from the middle to score more goals and become the best player in the world which a lot of people already know to be true also sell lucus voronin and look for players who give the club and fans 110%
Benayoun is going nowhere. Get keane would be good for torres, we dont really need barry but good if we get him.
Benitez wants to sell Penant, Voronin, Finnan, Benayoun...but no one is interested..he sold the best of the rest on offer...Crouch, Riise and Carson. He made many poor buys in the past when he had money and now he is short of funds he cannot sell them.
He is a good manager in many ways but his transfer buying does not stand up against many other managers. Also many managers seem able to motivate what are termed average players into good players (who usually are targets for top clubs). Roque Santa Cruz for example. Benitez doesn't seem able to do that. His players that deliver seem to be his most expensive buys. amongst other things I think that is why the owners are reluctant to provide ridiculous amounts of money to him.Torres great buy...but hope he continues!!!
GO FOR IT RAFFA AND DO WHAT YOU THINK WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CLUB OF LIVERPOOL F,C AND ITS FANS
Jay & Fire... You are damn right... Some people just doesn't understand that.. Since those who love to criticizes so much... Why don't they go n be the manager themselves since they are "so good" in all these transfer n management stuff...
rafalutioon, very well said, I couldn't agree more!
I remember going to see Norwich City v Man utd at Carrow Road back in the late 1980's and Fergie was manager of United then, The Likes of Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce were playing then, anyway the United fans were shouting after they lost 2-1 to Norwich "Fergie Fergie Fergie, out out out!"
It took a great manager a few years to build his team even when the fans were against him, RAFA deserves the same respect, time and money to do the same, did Alex Ferguson win a Champions league, FA CUP and reach another Champions League Final in his first three years?
I've the greatest respect for Man United, they are a great team but for some to say Rafa is S**t is a joke coming from you guys!
ok ok if he does go then who the hell is going to fill the shoes of keano and berbatov .. yes i know we got santos but thats it i really wouldnt say bent is worth talking about.. i sugest we start getting busy on the transfer market instead of all these links to players....
Tottenham must sell Berbatov,as l'm fed up with him trying to walk the ball into the net.They also need to sell Keane,did anybody spot how slow he had become in the second half of the season.Keane's best days are behind him.Sell before any other club notices they have a rapidly aging footballer on their hands.Modric,dos santos and hopefully Bentley will make for a good squad.We need a decent goalkeeper though
Now I see Liverpool is trying to get a good striker to play with Torres. If all things are giong well they will get that extra potencial they to get their succes
blip1blip you live in a fantasy world, what are spurs going to win except maybe the intertoto cup. keane isn't worth twenty million it about time these low level premier clubs relised its easy for there best players to shine when the rest of thier players are dire. p.s. i predict liverpool will pick up a major trophy next season.
Hi All
I know it's a difficult closed season for Rafa, but Hey get behind him no matter who he buys!! put your faith in one of the beast managers in the world and yes funds afterall are hard for him to get released from the yanks.
Get behind Rafa he will deliver.
A red since birth and till Death
A total rubbish idea from the Reds to sign him. They don't need him. Babel can do a lot better and of course they've Torres who can be alone up front with wingers. Kae isn't a good replacement for Crouch. The Irish hasn't got any specials and Torres has everything. They need someone strong and big. Alves from Middlesbrough would be a good choice, I think. But he won't be on sale......
no-one will bring liverpool another title in my lifetime [I'm 42] they have had their day,and Robbie will stay at Spurs 'cos he has a better chance of winning something there.....sorry Kop Outs but there are the facts....You will finish 6th
like i keep saying, the first manager to leave the premiership will be banitez. sometimes i just wonder if he is buying for buying sake. keane who? is banitez buying. that is a mid table striker for crying out loud! crouch is five million times better. how old is keane and how many goals has he in spurs to worth £20m. why did banitez not pay £32m for adebayor instead. coaches buy players bcos they want a blend of team type of play so where will keane fit in? what pattern of play are we expecting from liverpool/banitez this season bcos they have none so far. if keane is worth £20m, adebayor is worth more than £60m.
If Keane is worth £20M and Scott Carson only £4M then Liverpool have more pounds than common sence
buy Keane...don't buy Barry (Alonso is better) and that'll balance the books a bit! (Liverpool just don't need Barry). Crouch was always an option player. The big clubs weren't exactly battering down the doors when he was put up for sale. Where he's ended up reflects his abilities really (great, but not fantastic). Carson was sold too cheap.
Many people do not seem to appreciate that Keane is very much like David Villa in the way that he plays. Also Keane will always give you 110% which is more than you will get from many players. Get Keane and Liverpool will have a strike force to be recond with.
ajrcar1
im a true liverpool fan nd im sayin dat we shuld NOT buy Barry. aldough he is a brillant player he isnt half as good as Xabi Alonso. nd u know dat if we get Barry Rafa wil not play Xabi nd he will want to leave.
Also im glad dat we sold crouch (that usless lanky striker) Robbie is on da way and he will work good with Torres.
However this will only work if we play Kyut and Babell on da wings wit gerrard and ALONSO in the centre.
YNWA..............
if 20 mill is too much look elsewhere, you dont come to spurs and take our best players for peanuts. look around and see what strikers you can sign with a proven track record for less than 20 mill.
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