Premier League - Rafa right to be keen on Keane

Eurosport - Tue, 29 Jul 15:55:00 2008

Robbie Keane's move to Liverpool is the most high-profile transfer of the summer between two Premier League clubs, and Eurosport's Tom Williams reckons it also represents a shrewd piece of business by Reds boss Rafael Benitez.

2008-2009 Liverpool Rafa Benitez Robbie Keane - 0

Inevitably when a transfer of this magnitude takes place, the first bone of contention is the fee.

£19 million rising to £20.3m is certainly a great deal of money, but in a market where Carlos Tevez (who scored 14 Premier League goals to Keane's 15 last season) is worth £32m and Andriy Shevchenko is worth £30.1m, it doesn't seem that bad.

Furthermore, with seven assists to his name in 2007/08, Keane was as prolific in laying on goals for team-mates as Tevez, and only six strikers created more goals than the Irishman.

Darren Bent cost Spurs £16m from Charlton Athletic last summer, and although he didn't start that many games last season, his scoring rate was poor.

What really makes Keane value for money is the fact he is a tried and tested Premier League performer.

Brazilian striker Jo recently cost Manchester City a similar amount of money, but for all his undoubted ability it is anyone's guess as to how quickly he will adapt to English football.

Keane, on the other hand, has been scoring consistently since his £7 million move from Leeds United to Spurs in August 2002, averaging an impressive 13 goals per season over the last six years.

He's also averaged four assists per season in the same time, and managed to form workable relationships with a variety of striking partners, despite playing second fiddle to Jermain Defoe, Fredi Kanoute and Mido for the first half of his White Hart Lane career.

His partnership with Dimitar Berbatov over the last two seasons has been a fine thing to behold; the two players bringing the very best out of each other with their deft touches and instinctive movement.

The challenge for Keane will be to forge a similarly effective partnership with Fernando Torres, but it should present few problems for a player as technically gifted and tactically aware as Keane, who will relish the opportunity to slip passes through to the pacy Spaniard.

Keane, then, is the nearest thing to a dead cert when it comes to scoring goals in the Premier League, and at 28 years old he is moving to Anfield at his playing peak.

Indeed, his rather squat physique and superb close control mean that he has never had to rely on pace, so his game is unlikely to deteriorate rapidly as he ages.

The problem for Keane will be how he handles the step up to Champions League football, having never played in the competition before in his career.

In Spurs' UEFA Cup campaigns of the past two seasons he has scored an impressive nine goals in 19 games, but he will quickly find that teams like Milan and Barcelona are an altogether more taxing prospect than the likes of Aalborg and Anorthosis Famagusta.

Last season, though, he netted against Liverpool (twice), Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, and an international record of 33 goals in 81 appearances demonstrate that he is capable of surviving off only meagre scraps.

Indeed, the biggest threat to Keane's Anfield career is how he will react to the pressure of playing for one of the world's biggest clubs - one who he has supported since an early age - but the ease with which he has scored goals over the past few seasons suggests the Liverpool fans have little to fear.

Tom Williams / Eurosport

Comment 63 - 82 of 82

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  1. Sorry liverpool fans again 4th at the end of the season wat ever u buy Rafa

    From saroj c, on Wed 30 Jul 5:37PM

  2. I think liverpool does not need robbie kean at the time being... They need a player like bentley... Good for the spurs they r looking for that player. Liverpool weak point this season is the wings... look for new wings liver

    From mohamed.itani, on Wed 30 Jul 9:09AM

  3. well i was sad and angry that keane left....but we have done the same thing in the past....we poached carrick,berbatov,keane....etc....and i was glad....so i am a hypocrite in that respect....he's gone to a club he loves...a better club at the moment to be honest....but i read the letters and like mine they have opinions and suppositions
    ....we all have dreams of glory and trophies at this moment in time...who knows what the forthcoming season will bring.....only time will tell...spurs were going to be force the papers said at the beginning of last season....and look what happened!!!....all the best for this season to all supporters

    From DEREK W, on Wed 30 Jul 8:44AM

  4. Benitez never change.always buy average player with crazy money.wake up benitez!!!!sorry liverpool fans...no chance again this season....

    From sam_samvaro, on Wed 30 Jul 8:37AM

  5. just keep running your mouth man U,Arsholes or{arsenal} N chelsea fans,
    but it`s a game over for all of you who have chanting that we are not great anymore.
    hands us back our kingdom .Rafa got you the weapons of mass destructions ,so instead of talking bout keane 19 millions ,worried bout your fate in hands of him and torres and keeps your mouth shut,
    well done Rafa ,we taking over.
    mato in canberra australia

    From mathonbakk, on Wed 30 Jul 3:13AM

  6. what a signing..
    the premier league title will come to liverpool..
    hope liverpool will sign more excellent players..

    From HeRRy^GoNZaLeZ, on Wed 30 Jul 2:43AM

  7. HOW THE HELL DID KEANE GET THE NUMBER 7 SHIRT HE IS NOT IN THE CLASS OF DALGLISH OR KEEGAN

    From jerryLFC, on Wed 30 Jul 12:36AM

  8. The writer of the above article has got it badly wrong.Keana's best days are behind him.He,like Beckham aged prematurly.The second half of the season Keane lacked pace and ability to last 90mins.He scoring in this time was very poor.Furthermore his partnership with Berbatov only partially worked,as they played lovely one touch stuff,but too often tried to walk the ball into the net.A good deal for Spurs,and Keane will spend post Xmas til May on the bench at the pool

    From NW36HS, on Wed 30 Jul 12:26AM

  9. Benitex is a great choice and Keane a nice player that knows his onions though iam a Chelsea Fan,but i wish liverpool well most especially with a cool headed skipper In Gerard

    From iyahsino, on Tue 29 Jul 11:34PM

  10. didnt robbie keane play for leeds in the champions league? the report says he didnt.

    From hgarvey_21, on Tue 29 Jul 11:24PM

  11. Great signing, no need to say anymore.

    From rmsj.white@..., on Tue 29 Jul 9:39PM

  12. A good buy BUT in an illegal means. I wonder if what the fuss would have been, if Chelsea had played L'Pool's cards or Man U's, even to get Gerard to move to Chelsea.

    For those of you who still believe it was a clean deal, ask yourselves, why did Liverpool have to make a donation to Tottenham Hotspurs Foundation, a charity run by Spurs so that Spurs would withdraw there complaint @ the F.A? In DECENT climes the board and indeed Management of L'Pool would have been done for Bribery.

    On a lighter note tho, I hope Keane turns out to be the Messiah L'pool need to make a decent (keyword) challenge for the Premiership.

    From Ezenwa A, on Tue 29 Jul 9:25PM

  13. all the Manc's n chelsea's fans are out of their mind. why they should thinking about aour signing, its our team n our rule. except theres something that make those fool afraid inside Keane.
    I see that manc n chelsea will lay under our players feet. Torres with the shoot n Robbie give the assist. so better you look at your own signing, you bunch of dreamer. we're still the most decorated team in England, I know n i believe that this season is our.
    Great Signing Rafa YNWA
    "Big Red Jakarta, Jeddah Chapter"

    From eedaz, on Tue 29 Jul 9:09PM

  14. Oh yes, Sebastien Veron, well done John F. You have just reinstated my point of MU fans being hypocrytes. How much did you pay for Veron? £28 million was it? Yes I believe it was. And now you have a go at us for signing a player 100 times better for £10 million less? HYPOCRYTS!

    From clivewilliamson@..., on Tue 29 Jul 8:08PM

  15. has anyone from manu and chelsea heard of veron!

    From John F, on Tue 29 Jul 7:37PM

  16. up rafa

    From bennettuzoigwe, on Tue 29 Jul 7:25PM

  17. Great buy ! great balance for the team.
    quality player,skillful,intelligent.
    liverpool through and through.
    best bit of biz this summer.
    well done rafa.

    From Adam B, on Tue 29 Jul 6:44PM

  18. keane is quality wot a sighning

    From t.tabsy, on Tue 29 Jul 6:31PM

  19. Yeah Henry joined Barcelona For Just 16 Million pound but has it worked out ? . Henry became special because arsenal made him look so special just like AC Milan made Shevchenko Special . Keane certainly knows the way around and his techinical ability will only help Liverpool to move forward . So Dmi3rus just get on with it

    From Mohammed S, on Tue 29 Jul 6:29PM

  20. Robbie Keane is a great signing for us, he will support Torres like he did Berbartov, which means Torres will score more! Is that what you other top 4 clubs are worried about? I don't care if Keane scores less than 10 next season but mark my words, he'll make Torres score 30 in the Premiership. And some of the hypocrytes on this website - jeez! You MU fans were saying we were never going to splash the cash on any player worth over £18 million when we were failing to make a bid for Barry, but now we buy Keane for £19 million and you say we've payed too much? Make up your mind - if you ask me you can't say you've never made mistakes (£18 million for Owen Hargreaves? Anelka for Chelsea? Rosiscky for Arsenal?) What a bunch of hypocrytes, everything LFC does is wrong these days! But Robbie Keane is not a mistake. You will all be sobbing quitely when the title is at Anfield and Robbie has bagged a hat-trick against all of you!

    Well done Rafa, now make a move for David Silva!

    From clivewilliamson@..., on Tue 29 Jul 6:24PM
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