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Should someone be looking to take a risk on this cut-price Spurs Striker?

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After a relatively unsuccessful loan spell at West Ham for the second half of last season, Robbie Keane returned to Tottenham where his future at the club is more than unclear. His value has reportedly been dropped again by the club to around £4-5million as they look to offload their once sought-after goal machine. But where does this leave him for next season and will any Premiership teams be willing to take a gamble on the Irish striker?

Robbie has had many ups and downs in his career, which has seen him become the tenth highest goalscorer in Premiership history and the first Irish player to reach 50 goals internationally. However, in recent years he seems to have lost a bit of the cutting-edge and enigmatic flair that used to make him so threatening to opposition defences. Back in the period between 2002 and 2008, Keane looked like a formidable force in the Tottenham side and was recognised as a fan favourite, becoming vice-captain in the 2005/06 season. In 2007 he excelled all expectations and drew plaudits from fans and pundits with 31 goals in just 40 starts, making him one of the inform and stand-out players in the league.

However since joining Liverpool in 2008, he has never really been able to capture the same sort of form that he enjoyed in the previous seasons. I still remember the Virgin advert ‘A return from London to Liverpool faster than Robbie Keane’, which seemed harsh at the time. Since then though he had a successful loan spell at Celtic, where it looked as though he was once again enjoying his football and returned to goalscoring ways in a fashion that made you think he was back on track to gaining some momentum to his performances. When he joined West Ham in January it looked like a bad move for him, joining a struggling club with little promise in the goalscoring department, and although it would give Robbie a chance to help the sied battle relegation, he never really got firing in circumstances and surroundings where he just didn’t seem suited. He certainly didn’t live up to the rather ambitious quotes of Avram Grant as ‘The new Carlos Tevez’.

This begs the question, after a lack of consistent performances at West Ham, who would sign Keane for the 2011/12 season? Bolton, Blackburn and Aston Villa have been rumoured as possible buyers, after his former boss Martin Jol ruled out a move to Fulham for the striker. I think a lot of how Robbie will perform at any potential club would be down to his mindset and enthusiasm. Without a sense of a true new opportunity in a decent club, I don’t think we can expect the kind of attitude or performances that would see him as the lead striker at his new employers.

I think Bolton or maybe Villa would probably be a decent destination for Keane, as these clubs have proven recently that they are capable of playing good football and seem like an environment where he could feel comfortable improving. Questions remain over who would be the ideal strike partner for him. He does like to drop off the front man and play a part in instigating attacks, with I feel may be good for Aston Villa after losing Young who often played a role just behind the striker last season. Coupled with the forward movement and goalscoring ability of Darren Bent, this could be a winning combination.

I would like to see Robbie Keane at a good in-form club next season where he can have an opportunity to replicate his fantastic international form and get back into scoring league goals. He is a good option and very good value for money at around £4million, for someone who has good technical ability, good movement off the ball and can run at defenders with pace and power. Admittedly he isn’t what he used to be, and at 31 years of age he isn’t someone who could feature in any long-term plans, but he is used to playing in big games and scoring goals against big opposition, and he is a determined and driven individual.

Even when he wasn’t scoring in vast quantities, he did score some crucial goals against Arsenal, Bolton and Sunderland. Plus he does put in stand-out performances, even if not consistently, like when he left Burnley fans with the words Four-Keane-Hell (say it quickly) etched in their memories after he scored four goals in a 5-0 win in 2009. If he could get into the first team at Tottenham, which seems unlikely, then I would love to see him get another shot at revitalising his career where he has won the club’s player of the year award 3 times, but ultimately he seems destined for lower echelons of the Premier League.

Follow me on Twitter: @HazbTwit

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