Desmond seals Keane deal

ROY KEANE was last night on the brink of fulfilling a boyhood dream in joining Glasgow Celtic.

The ex-Man Utd captain was in Glasgow for a club medical before putting pen to paper on a reputed 18-month deal worth a reputed £50,000 a week.

Sources suggested the deal would be finalised today, and is believed to involve some coaching responsibilities at the club. Celtic have previously agreed similar arrangements with players, notably Paul Lambert.

Keane’s financial package may be a considerable drop on his reported Old Trafford wage of £90,000, but the deal to join the Hoops was only salvaged by the personal intervention of the club’s key shareholder, Dermot Desmond, who is huge fan of Keane’s.

Parkhead chairman Brian Quinn has expressed his concern about Keane’s existing wages, and warned that such a deal was “out of the question” for Celtic.

But the Irish businessman, who owns an almost 30% stake in the club, has reportedly agreed to underwrite the difference between Celtic’s offer and Keane’s demands. Given that the highest paid player at Celtic is on approximately £30,000 a week, which would leave the chairman underwriting a £1m a year shortfall.

However, given that a recent Four Four Two magazine survey placed Desmond’s worth at around £867m, he is unlikely to baulk at such figures.

Desmond has been a key figure in behind-the-scenes moves to get the Cork man to Parkhead.

The irony of recent criticism from Celtic fans will not be lost on Desmond, who has been accused of failing to invest sufficiently in Celtic transfer targets.

In a recent, and rare, interview with the Celtic Supporters’ Association, he answered accusations that he failed to invest after the UEFA Cup final in 2003.

“It’s totally ignorant to say that all the problems are resolved by me putting money into the club,” he said. “When I hear my commitment questioned, I’d like to tell them to go jump into the biggest river they can find.”

If the Keane deal proceeds, it will only fuel Desmond’s desire to have Celtic playing in the English Premiership.

He admitted: “We’ve looked at all the avenues to develop Celtic through the European Commission, into the English Premier League and we continue to do that.

“I’ve spent hundreds of thousands per year of my own money to see how Celtic could be developed in the Premiership and elsewhere. That is a continuous process.

“There are a lot of intellectual people on the board at Celtic and we are looking at all the options for the club.”

If all the contractual details can be ironed out in time, Keane could be unveiled as a Celtic player early next week, and will be available to the side from the New Year - their first game of 2006 is a visit to title rivals Hearts.

However, there is still a considerable doubt whether he will move his family north from their Cheshire home.

Reports last night suggested that an agreement had been reached whereby Keane could commute a couple of days a week from England.

Ironically, his ex-Man United colleague David Beckham yesterday issued a come to Madrid plea to the former Irish skipper.

“If we’ve got a chance of signing Roy Keane and I was asked about it then I would say we should,” the England captain told a news conference.

“He brings a lot to a team and I’ve never played with a better leader on the pitch. I would recommend him because Roy Keane is an incredible player and person ... but I don’t know what is going to happen as there have been a lot of changes at this club.”

Beckham said he did not believe Keane’s age should stop him joining the Primera Liga club.

“What Roy Keane brings to a team on and off the pitch is special,” Beckham said.

“Even when he’s been injured or even when he didn’t play in the European Cup final he gave players a lift.

“Obviously he is 34 and people believe he hasn’t got much time left, but I believe he has got a few years left.

“I haven’t spoken to him for a long time now, but, knowing the person and player he is, he can still play.”

However, Beckham admitted that Celtic was now a more realistic deal for Keane.

“It’s his decision where he will end up and I know that Celtic is the club he supports and people have linked him with there since he left United,” Beckham said.