“Happy hour at Copper Face Jacks. Get in!!”
There’s a slight feeling of deja-vu about this story but according to one of Britain’s last bastions of truth, The Daily Star, Spurs are willing to cut their losses and let Robbie Keane join Aston Villa if the West Midlands club stump up £5m plus John Carew. Doesn’t seem right does it?
Keane is said to be desperate to leave White Hart Lane after slipping down the pecking order behind the Crouch/Defoe axis and Villa manager Martin O’Neill is known to be [‘scuse the pun] keen on the Irish forward which, after some careful 2+2=5 arithmetic, adds up to Spurs trying to capitalise and recoup as much of the £12 million they shelled out when they re-signed Keane from Liverpool last January.
It is reported that Tottenham may also throw want-away flop David ‘Fosbury’ Bentley into the deal as a makeweight to secure the deal for Carew as ‘Arry Redknapp sees the big Norwegian as the kind of ‘triffic player Spurs need to push on toward the Champions League spots.
Pretty pie-in-the sky stuff I’d say. Carew is universally loved by the Villa fans despite kicking corner flags into the faces of the younger supporters and is an integral part of the way they play so I don’t think O’Neill would let him move on at this stage of the season.
At 29, I’m sure Robbie Keane has a couple of decent years left in him but he might have to seek a fresh start away from The Lane to fully recapture his form. If a ‘lesser’ team came calling with the promise of first-team football I think Keane should carefully consider it. A player like Keane would shine in the Birmingham team for example – it’s just a question of ego as to whether he’d take the plunge.