Nomadic Keane off to Celtic

REPUBLIC OF Ireland skipper Robbie Keane was unveiled as a Celtic player last night with the 29-year-old striker joining up with the Glasgow outfit until the end of the season after reports linking the Dubliner with Sunderland and West Ham came to nothing. He could make his debut for Celtic in tonight’s Scottish Premier League match at Kilmarnock

Steve Bruce signed Alan Hutton from Tottenham but the Sunderland boss denied having made any move to recruit the Irish striker, while West Ham settled instead for Keane’s former Tottenham team-mate Mido.

With no concrete interest from elsewhere, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp confirmed, just as the English deadline passed,the Dubliner was heading to Scotland where he had until midnight last night to wrap up his loan move. In the event, the talks had been concluded by 8pm.

With the striker, who has previously played for Wolves, Coventry, Inter, Leeds and Liverpool, earning well in excess of what anyone else at Celtic gets, it is believed the deal is based on an agreement by club owner Dermot Desmond to stump up a considerable portion of his wages.

“Robbie wants to play and it will be difficult to guarantee him a starting place so I have decided to let him go on loan until the end of the season,” said Redknapp. “To go to Celtic is a dream come true for him anyway.”

“I think it’s a move that appeals to him. He’s a big Celtic man and he’d like to go up to Celtic and play like Roy Keane did. The Irish lads, it’s in their blood and they dream of playing for Celtic one day. This opportunity is one they want to take and we don’t want to stand in his way, because we’re strong in that position.”

As it happens, Keane had really not fared too badly at the Spurs manager’s hands this season with 25 games, the majority of them starts, yielding nine goals, albeit with four of them coming in one win over Burnley.

The arrival of the Eidur Gudjohnson, however, appeared to signal he would see less action over the second half of the season and the decision to go to Celtic suggests he took the hint.

It will scarcely be all glamour for the Dubliner, though, as the Scots are all but out of the title race making this weekend’s cup tie at Dunfermline a game of fairly major importance.

Staying put, meanwhile, is Stephen Hunt who admitted yesterday the 5pm deadline would come as “a bit of a relief” after all the speculation linking him with a move from Hull to Wolves.

Mick McCarthy did make one last attempt to sign the winger but an offer of around €5.6 million, which the former Ireland boss later described as “over the odds,” was turned down before lunchtime yesterday after which both sides signalled there would not be a deal.

Elsewhere, another Ireland striker, Leon Best, wrapped up a permanent move from Coventry City to Newcastle for an undisclosed fee.

The 23 year-old has been enjoying a strong season and has steadily been working his way into Giovanni Trapattoni’s plans at international level, prompting Chris Hughton to predict he has a big future ahead of him.

“He’s a good age, at 23, and certainly he has his best years in front of him,” said the former international. “He has a lot of development left in him and we hope to see that here at Newcastle.”

Keith Treacy signed a two and a half year deal at Preston from Blackburn and also on the move were Alex Bruce, Daryl Murphy and Graham Carey with the three leaving their current clubs for Leicester, Ipswich and St Mirren respectively.

Bruce leaves Portman Road at least until the end of the season, while Murphy along with David Healy, have left Sunderland to join former boss Roy Keane, also for the rest of the current campaign.

Carey, a Republic of Ireland under-21 international, who picked up a league winner’s medal with Bohemians while on loan from Celtic during the early part of last year, has been handed the opportunity to get more regular SPL experience this time.

Jim Goodwin has had his loan spell at Oldham extended by Huddersfield while 21 year-old goalkeeper Stephen Henderson, a nephew of Wayne, has joined League two side Aldershot on an initial one month loan.

“He can kick the ball into areas where we can score goals; it was something we were lacking,” said his new manager, Kevin Dillon.