Hammer time for Keane
The Ireland captain, 30, yesterday ended an unhappy second spell at Tottenham by signing for West Ham on loan until the end of the season, and the finer points of the deal include a clause stating that Keane will move to the club permanently if the Premier League’s bottom club avoid relegation.
It is a tough call, considering only one club in the past decade have survived after being bottom at Christmas, as West Ham were.
But since then, Avram Grant’s side have shown signs of improvement, with two wins and two draws from the past six league games.
Grant also signed Demba Ba from Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga last week, and sees Keane as the player to help the Senegal striker score the goals to keep his side safe.
The move brings to an end intense speculation about Keane’s next destination. The Dubliner has been out of favour at Tottenham since returning from an ill-fated spell at Liverpool, the club he supported as a boy.
Keane had become a firm favourite and captain at White Hart Lane, forming a deadly partnership with Dimitar Berbatov and helping the club win the Carling Cup in 2008.
But it all changed when the two strikers were sold that summer, Berbatov moving to Manchester United for €35m while a fee of €23m took Keane to Liverpool.
But he never settled at Anfield, scoring only five league goals in 19 games, and within six months he was back at White Hart Lane, as Liverpool took a hit of around €10m to sell him back to Spurs. But he was never quite accepted back by fans who felt betrayed that he left them for Anfield only weeks after signing a new contract and expressing his desire to see out his playing days at Tottenham.
He also had fresh competition for a place from Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch, and was sent on loan a year ago to Celtic. He scored freely in the SPL, but the club could not afford a permanent transfer fee or his wages, so he returned to Spurs at the end of the season.
Still fourth choice at Spurs, a move elsewhere looked likely last summer. There have been plenty of suitors, but wages of around €80,000 per week were one problem, and Redknapp’s reluctance to accept another loan deal, when he is trying to raise cash for his own transfer targets was another. Sunderland, Birmingham and Aston Villa were all keen on Keane at various times, but it is understood that his wife preferred to stay in London. Fulham manager Mark Hughes wanted to team him up with Damien Duff, but it was too expensive. So he was left with West Ham, who are desperately in need of a forward line that can score goals consistently. Frederic Piquionne, Victor Obinna have been hit and miss, while Carlton Cole has knee problems not unlike Ledley King, Keane’s Tottenham team-mate.
Spurs, who do not have a great relationship with the Hammers because of their rivalry over moving to the Olympic Stadium site in Stratford, wanted to do a permanent transfer, and were also keen on player-swap deal with Keane and Scott Parker changing places.
But the compromise of a loan deal now, with a permanent transfer if West Ham retain their lucrative Premier League place, is the best compromise.
Also on the move from Tottenham is Jamie O’Hara, who is set to move to Wolves on loan. The former England U21 midfielder is eligible to play for Ireland and is keeping his international options open, but his career has been interrupted by a serious back injury.
O’Hara broke through at Spurs two seasons ago, and impressed in a season-long loan deal at Portsmouth before they were relegated. Having just returned to fitness, he will spend the remainder of this season at Molineux.
Another midfielder likely to move, on what could turn out to be a busy transfer deadline day today, is Stephen Ireland. The former Manchester City midfielder has failed to establish a place at Aston Villa since moving there as part of the deal that took James Milner to Eastlands, and will go to Newcastle on loan until the end of the season.
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