Robbie Keane to Liverpool “An Enforced Sale”

Wow. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wasn’t in the mood to put any positive spin on losing Robbie Keane to Liverpool for (up to) £20.3 million. Normally clubs release press statements saying “the deal represented good value for us going forward” or some other such bullshit, but here’s what Levy said:

“I have already made my opinion clear on the nature of this transaction. I don’t regard it as a transfer deal – that is something which happens between two clubs when they both agree to trade – this is very much an enforced sale.”

Why “enforced”? Mostly because Robbie Keane made it very clear he wanted to go, and because Liverpool kept at it. Spurs even reported Liverpool for sniffing around their (former) captain a little too enthusiastically, but nothing came of it.

This is more or less exactly what Peter Kenyon was talking about yesterday. Even if a club doesn’t want to sell, and says they don’t want to sell, it doesn’t matter. If a player is attracted by the club that’s showing an interest, he’s eventually going to go.

And while we’re talking about Robbie Keane, I’m a little worried by all the “Liverpool + Robbie Keane = Premier League” headlines.

Yes, he’s a quality quality striker, and yes, he’s a step up from Peter Crouch. And the Premier League NEEDS a proper Liverpool title challenge just to stop things getting boring (Chelsea, Man Utd, repeat). But Liverpool still need some serious wingers (I can’t take Jermaine Pennant seriously, not really) and some defensive reinforcements before we can start talking about the final piece of Liverpool’s Premier League jigsaw.

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Category: English Premier League