Real are close to signing Keane

SOCCER: Real Madrid confirmed yesterday that they were interested in signing Roy Keane in the January transfer window and the Spanish club believe they are very close to completing a deal.

Keane's representative Michael Kennedy downplayed the imminence of any move yesterday, emphasising that the midfielder has a young family to consider, but the mood at the Bernabeu was more optimistic.

"Roy Keane is on the list of possible signings that the club is discussing at the moment," said Madrid's director of communications Antonio Garcia Ferreras.

"But nothing has been decided as yet.

"Contrary to reports the player has not passed a medical nor will he do so in the next couple of days. What is true is that the player was offered to the club around a month ago and because of his characteristics he is the sort of player that interests the technical staff.

"They are going to sit down in seven or eight days and decide on who, if anyone, the club will sign when the transfer window opens."

However, senior figures at Madrid believe the deal could be completed well before that, and Kennedy said he hoped the former Manchester United captain will make a decision within the next 48 hours.

Keane has previously stated his reluctance to sign for one of Manchester United's direct competitors in the Premiership and is equally uneasy about uprooting his family.

However, the financial inducements Madrid could offer would be considerably more than other interested clubs - Everton, Bolton Wanderers and Celtic are all still eager to talk terms - not to mention playing in the sort of exalted environment to which Keane has become accustomed after 12 years at Old Trafford.

His other suitors have not given up, however. Everton manager David Moyes said on Sunday: "He's a player that I would like to bring to Everton but we have not heard anything yet. I'm sure I am the same as eight or 10 other managers that are waiting for a decision but I respect that Roy will take his time and make the decision that is best for himself."

Bolton Wanderers' Sam Allardyce has also not given up hope of signing Keane.

If Keane did sign for Real, he would be reunited with former club colleague David Beckham, would provide a new edge to the Real midfield and revitalise the team in the same way that Dutchman Edgar Davids did at Barcelona two seasons ago.

If the deal does materialise, however, it would be one of European football's most bizarre transfers. The battle-weary 34-year-old is a shadow of the uncompromising player who inspired United to seven league titles after joining Nottingham Forest in 1993.

He has not played a competitive game since breaking a bone in his foot against Liverpool in September and is hardly likely to walk straight into the Real Madrid starting line-up after over three months on the sidelines. His signing would dramatically raise the average age of a Real midfield that already includes 30-year-old Beckham and 33-year-old Zinedine Zidane.

Real are not even short of central midfielders at the moment, with new signing Pablo Garcia, Thomas Gravesen, Guti and the versatile Sergio Ramos competing for places in the starting line-up.

The 19-year-old Ramos did a superb job in central midfield in Real's 2-0 victory over Malaga on Sunday, while Guti, who has never been given a sustained run in the first team, is also in fine form.

It also seems unlikely that caretaker coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, who is anxious to win over the Spanish players in the dressing room, would want to throw a controversial character like Keane into the mix.

In any case it would be impossible for Keane to fill the role of inspirational captain as he did at United.

Although he has won a hatful of league titles and FA Cups with United, his list of trophies would count for little in a dressing room that measures success in terms of Champions Leagues and World Cups.

Given the characteristics of his game, Keane would find it difficult to adapt to the lower levels of contact in Spanish football and the different criteria for making refereeing decisions.

Keane would not even be able to play in Europe after appearing for United in a Champions League qualifier against Debrecen in August.

Real fans are crying out for the club to recruit a new striker to replace injured captain Raul and provide cover for the under-performing Ronaldo.

The recruitment of a midfielder who is clearly past his best is unlikely to meet with their approval.