Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Liverpool have announced the signing of Robbie Keane from Tottenham. The 28-year-old was on Merseyside on Monday for a medical and to discuss personal terms after Liverpool agreed a fee which could rise to �£20.3million for the Irishman. Liverpool have quickly concluded the deal and Keane has signed a four-year deal at Anfield to end his six years at White Hart Lane. Reds boss Rafa Benitez has been chasing Keane all summer as he sees him as the ideal partner for Fernando Torres in attack and the Republic of Ireland international will fill the void created by Peter Crouch's departure to Portsmouth. Keane is Liverpool's fifth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Philipp Degen, Andrea Dossena, Diego Cavalieri and David Ngog. Former Leeds and Coventry ace Keane could make his debut for his boyhood heroes in their pre-season friendly with Villarreal on Wednesday, a game that can be seen live on Sky Sports 1. Liverpool's pursuit of Keane upset Spurs chairman Daniel Levy with the club reporting the Reds to the Premier League over their interest in the Irishman. Spurs were unhappy with Benitez for publicly declaring his interest in Keane earlier this summer, believing it unsettled the player. Complaint withdrawn Now the move has gone through Tottenham have announced they will not pursue their official complaint to the Premier League, but Levy did reveal Keane had handed in a transfer request in a bid to secure a move to Anfield. "I was incredibly disappointed when I first heard, not only that Liverpool had been working behind the scenes to bring Robbie to Anfield, but that Robbie himself wanted to go and he submitted a transfer request to this effect," Levy told the club's official website. "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, for which we have agreed a sum of �£19m as compensation plus a potential further �£1.3m in additional compensation." Tottenham also revealed the official complaint was withdrawn after an apology and a donation to the club's main charity, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation were made by Liverpool. A club statement read: "Liverpool FC has also acknowledged that the way its website reported comments of its manager, which were widely covered by the media, was inappropriate and in light of that acknowledgement has apologised and agreed to make a donation to our club's main charity, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. "Tottenham Hotspur has therefore agreed not to pursue its official complaint to the Premier League." Thanks Keane also issued a statement, to express his thanks to Tottenham for his time at White Hart Lane. "I would like to place on record my thanks to the board, players and fans of Tottenham for the past six years, which were the best and most enjoyable of my career to date," read the statement. "I will never forget them. I would specifically like to thank chairman Daniel Levy for understanding, that, as a fan, joining Liverpool is a lifelong dream of mine and one I couldn't let pass me by. "I hope one day the Spurs fans, who have been brilliant to me, can understand this too. "I have only good things to say about my time at Tottenham and expect them to go from strength to strength under Juande Ramos and Daniel Levy." Not exactly a suprise but Im absolutely delighted with this signing. Keane and Torres up front together will be unreal. They have also strengthened in defence which was already pretty strong so I really do expect Liverpool to give their best challenge for the EPL for a number of years. Im not sure if they will be able to surpass ManU or Chelsea but they are going the right way. I may watch the friendly tomorrow while listening to our game... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Yip as mentioned on the other thread its a great signing for Liverpool. He has the quality to walk into their starting XI. I still dont think they are near good enough defensively or in the wide areas to match Chelsea or Man Utd, plus their strength in depth is way short of those 2. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Dont know to much about the players they have signed, but already ok defensively and they have strengthened both full back areas so not sure where you are coming from there. Chelsea to me seem to have the strongest squad but Manu will always be there with the team and spirit they seem to have. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Dont know to much about the players they have signed, but already ok defensively and they have strengthened both full back areas so not sure where you are coming from there.. You just said it yourself, you dont know too much about the players they have signed - so thats where Im coming from. The players they have signed coud be absolute average at best. They certainly arent exactly Ashley Cole or Patrice Evra or we would know about them. Plus Agger and Carragher are not a patch on Vidic & Ferdinand, Terry & Carvalho or Gallas & Toure. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Id put Carragher on a par with any of those players you have just mentioned. The two full backs, I believe are internationalists, one came from the German leaugue, one from the Italian. Agger also has more of a goal threat than any of those you mentioned too. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 A central defensive partnership is only as good as the partner - so Gribz's comparison is certainly valid. I would take any of those central defensive pairings before Liverpool's (except possibly Toure and Gallas - Toure is a great player but Gallas has become prone to too many errors). One other thing that Liverpool havent had in the EPL in the last couple of seasons is the winning mentality and grinding out results - will they have that this season ? Who knows..... only time will tell. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Liverpool have completed the signing of Udinese defender Andrea Dossena on a four-year deal. The Italian full-back becomes Reds manager Rafa Benitez's second signing of the summer following the arrival of Swiss international Philipp Degen on Thursday. The left-back will compete with Fabio Aurelio for a place in Liverpool's first XI and is viewed as a replacement for John Arne Riise, who recently moved to Roma. Reports suggest that the 26-year-old has cost Liverpool a fee in the region of �£7million. Dossena, who has one international cap, played 63 games for Udinese and scored two goals. Swiss full-back Philipp Degen has officially completed his free transfer move to Liverpool. Degen was available on a Bosman deal after opting against signing a new contract at Borussia Dortmund. Liverpool confirmed in May that Degen was on his way to Anfield and the right-back signed his four-year contract on Thursday. He was part of Switzerland's Euro 2008 squad and will vie with Alvaro Arbeloa and Steve Finnan for a starting spot next season. Player of potential At the time of the signing, Reds boss Rafa Benitez admitted it was important to pick up free transfers in order to use his money on other areas of the squad. "Sometimes you can find these players on the market," said Benitez on the club's official website. "When you find a player like him who costs no money it means you can use money for improving other parts of the squad. "He is a good signing, a player of potential, who can help us improve in the wide areas." Not to bad a couple of signings Gribz, with Gerrard, Alonso (at the moment), Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun and Babel in the midfield its not looking too bad. One signing like Deco for Chelsea an they could really be up there 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Understand that Craig. Im torn between the central partnership of Manu and Chelsea, possibly opt for Chelsea. The best Liverpool have had recently was Carragher and Hyppia. Im not sure how it will pan out this season but am looking forward to it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Not to bad a couple of signings Gribz, with Gerrard, Alonso (at the moment), Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun and Babel in the midfield its not looking too bad. One signing like Deco for Chelsea an they could really be up there Yeah they dont sound bad players but they will be unproven to begin with. Riise leaving is a loss and i read today that Arbeloa is heading back to Spain. But the midfield is looking good, like the 4th best in England 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon 0 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Share Posted July 29, 2008 Gerrard over any of the other top 4 clubs midfielders is a tough call. IMO, at times he tries to do to much to the detriment of the team. Untried players? Yep I guess so, but I suppose Wenger hasnt done to bad with his untried players has he? Riise I dont think has done that well the last couple of seasons although still a player I always liked. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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