Robbie Keane has been linked to MLS for several months now, but those rumors received a shot in the arm when Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said his captain needs to start playing or risk being left off the national team. Keane has been stuck on the bench at Tottenham, having started just one game since Sept. 21 and none since Oct. 30. He's made just seven EPL appearances and has scored just one goal across all competitions for Tottenham this season.
Ireland Manager Told Robbie Keane To Go To MLS, Or Anywhere Else He Would Play
"I have said it is important to him that he goes and plays," said Trapattoni. "If he stays two months on the bench without a game, we have also (Kevin) Doyle, we have (Shane) Long. Anthony Stokes and Leon Best score goals.
"We have this situation, but I hope he tries a new team. If Robbie does not find a new team, we can try other options after.
"I spoke with him, when he could go to America (he was linked to Canadian-based MLS side, Vancouver Whitecaps), and I said, 'you go.' He said to me also, 'Maybe I go to Birmingham, the first I go to is Aston Villa.'
"We need him to play games. We have options but it's important that we do not put too much pressure on the shoulders of young players. That is dangerous."
By all appearances, the big stumbling point for Keane is money. Tottenham doesn't seem interested in giving him away and teams don't appear to be jumping at his asking price. If that can be overcome, though, the Whitecaps are still very much in need of a scorer. Despite spending the No. 1 overall SuperDraft pick on a forward, Omar Salgado is just 17 and might not even be allowed to play in Canada until he turns 18 in September. Even if he was allowed to play, chances are he's not ready to contribute much scoring at the MLS level.
Keane, for all his perceived rustiness, has still looked like a top-shelf scorer when he plays. In his past six games for Ireland, he’s scored four goals. In 37 2009-10 professional matches, he scored 26 goals and he’s managed to score at least 20 goals every year (across all competitions) during five of the past six seasons.
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