Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp said he was ready to sell striker Robbie Keane after the player told him he wanted a move, news that will alert MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps, Sky Sports reported Saturday.
The expansion club was recently linked with the much-traveled Irish international, 30, after he fell further out of contention at White Hart Lane. With at least four players ahead of him, Keane failed to make even the substitutes’ bench for the club’s English Premier League victory over Liverpool last Sunday.
It was not the first time he was frozen out of the first team, with Keane staying on at the Spurs in the summer despite being sent on loan to Scottish giants Celtic last season.
But after starting only two games this term, he confirmed this week to Redknapp that his future lay elsewhere.
“He’s not used to not playing. All his career, he’s played and been a big player, and he wants to play. He could sit here and take his wages, but that’s not him,” the Spurs boss said, adding that “he [Keane] wants to play football. He trains hard, works hard every day. He’s shown a great attitude. Probably the hardest decision I had to make was last week: I couldn’t get him on the bench.”
Redknapp continued, “It wasn’t easy when you respect somebody and what a good player he is or has been. It was hard, because he’s still a good player.”
He said Keane was likely to be sold to “whoever offers the biggest fee” in the January transfer window. The Whitecaps reportedly face competition from EPL side Aston Villa to become the eighth club of Keane’s nomadic career.
The transfer would propel the talented forward past the $118 million (£75 million) mark in transfer fees after signing for Wolves, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham (twice) and Liverpool.
Read more: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_6552388,00.html