Robbie Keane eager to make up for lost time and win back the Tottenham Hotspur fans. Southern comfort: Keane admitted his move to Liverpool had not worked and he is happy to return to Tottenham
Robbie Keane vowed to win over the Tottenham Hotspur fans he upset by joining Liverpool in July after completing a swift return journey to North London yesterday.
After six frustrating months at Anfield, Keane became the third former player to be brought back to White Hart Lane by Harry Redknapp in the past month, with Tottenham paying £16 million to secure the striker’s return.
Keane may find himself lining up on Sunday against an Arsenal side containing Andrei Arshavin, the Russia forward, whose signing is not expected to be confirmed officially until today despite the transfer window closing at 5pm yesterday.
“A number of transfers still require board approval,” a Premier League spokesman said. The League demands evidence from both selling and buying clubs that deals have been agreed in principle and was last night checking that Arsenal and Zenit St Petersburg had provided enough detail.
It is common that transfers, as in Arshavin’s case, may not be formally announced until long after the deadline. This can be because loose ends are still being tied up by the clubs, or because the Premier League has to work its way through a backlog before ratifying transfers — it receives a flurry of e-mails and faxes shortly before each deadline.
The deal for Keane, which had been a subject of speculation for weeks, always seemed likely to go through in regulation time. “It was a difficult decision to leave Tottenham in the summer,” Keane said. “It proved not to be the right move for me. I know some Spurs fans will feel I let them down by leaving, but I can assure them I shall be giving my all for this club.”
Liverpool were offered Gareth Bale and David Bentley, the left back and midfield player respectively, in part exchange, but the Merseyside club favoured a straight cash deal. The fee could eventually reach close to £20 million, but that figure is dependent on Tottenham winning trophies, meaning that Liverpool are expected to take a hit of at least £4 million on the Ireland forward.
Keane — who has now commanded transfer fees in the region of £75 million — is ineligible for the Carling Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley on March 1, having played in the competition for Liverpool this season.
“Keane will have a massive impact,” Redknapp, who had already secured the return of Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda, said. “He is a good player with great enthusiasm and wants to win. It rubs off on people and we need people like that. He is full of energy and has fantastic ability. We will need him.” The desire to sign Keane became more pressing because Defoe injured a foot on Friday and is to have an operation today that will keep him out for ten weeks.
Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, expressed his delight that Keane had chosen to return, although he had insinuated in an open letter to fans in October that the player might have become a negative influence had he stayed after expressing a desire to join Liverpool.
“I was disappointed when he informed me that he wanted to join what he described as his favourite boyhood club,” Levy had said. “Our coaching staff felt that it would be very difficult to expect Robbie to continue to be such a positive influence in our dressing-room when he so clearly wanted to leave us.”