Keane stuns Spurs with transfer demand: Liverpool set to offer Crouch and £5m for striker
By JOHN EDWARDS AND NEIL ASHTON
Robbie Keane stunned Tottenham by telling them he wants to leave.
Sportsmail can reveal that Republic of Ireland striker Keane delivered his
shock transfer demand after learning Liverpool had lodged a
player-plus-cash bid for him on Friday.
The 28-year-old came out of a meeting at White Hart Lane having left club
officials in little doubt about his eagerness to play for his boyhood idols.
Anfield manager Rafa Benitez sees Keane as the ideal strike partner for
Euro 2008 match-winner Fernando Torres and is prepared to part with Peter
Crouch and around £5million to make it happen.
As with his pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, though, Benitez
is going to have to dig deeper after Tottenham rejected his initial offer
and placed a £20m valuation on Keane.
Keane's desire to get away from Spurs is a bigger shock. Liverpool skipper
Steven Gerrard and long-serving centre back Jamie Carragher are both
friends of the Irishman, who could be one of three strikers to leave
Tottenham should the deal go through.
Spurs manager Juande Ramos knows Dimitar Berbatov is unsettled and he is
also exploring ways of offloading Darren Bent. Apart from having to
increase the cash adjustment, Benitez may also struggle to talk Crouch into
being part of the package as the England striker still wishes to join Harry
Redknapp at Portsmouth.
Villa confirmed that Barry can move to Anfield, provided Liverpool match
their £18m price.
posted by lfc vancouver @ 10:17 PM
