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Keane returns to Spurs as Arsenal wait on Arshavin
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-04 15:54 LONDON -- Robbie Keane returned to Tottenham Hotspur from Liverpool on Monday's final day of the January transfer window.
Keane left Tottenham for Liverpool, the club he supported as a boy, in July in a 20 million pounds move yet struggled to convince manager Rafael Benitez he was worthy of a place in the team. The Republic of Ireland striker was sidelined at Anfield and wasn't even in the squad for Sunday's 2-0 win over Premier League title rivals Chelsea. But on Monday the 28-year-old former Spurs captain followed Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda in returning to White Hart Lane during the January window and manager Harry Redknapp said: "They were all good players that the chairman didn't want to lose in the first place. I think they are terrific signings for the club. "Robbie will make a terrific impact, he is a boy who wants to win and you need that at the club," Redknapp added. The heavy snow-falls in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, which prevented some players travelling to sign for clubs, led officials at the Premier League to extend Monday's 1730GMT deadline provided they had e-mail confirmation from both the buying and selling clubs that a deal had been agreed. Arsenal sources told AFP that 27-year-old Russia international midfielder Arshavin, who starred at Euro 2008, had joined the Gunners till June 2012 for 12 million pounds (13.3 million euros). But several hours after the deadline passed, there was still no formal confirmation of Arshavin's transfer. However, it appeared the hold-up was primarily to do with the difficulty the Premier League had in processing the sheer volume of late deadline day deals and that the move would go through on Tuesday. Manchester City let Brazilian striker Jo move to Everton on loan on a day where their pursuit of Blackburn Rovers' Roque Santa Cruz appeared to come to an end after the two teams failed to agree on a fee for the Paraguay forward. Chelsea, looking for a lift after that loss to Liverpool left them five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, brought in Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma on loan from Inter Milan after he was left out of former Blues boss Jose Mourinho's Champions League squad. Charles N'Zogbia, insulted by manager Joe Kinnear's failure to remember his name during a television interview last week, moved from Newcastle to Wigan with Ryan Taylor heading in the opposite direction. Meanwhile striker Henri Camara, no longer a first-team regular at the JJB, stayed in the top flight after going on loan to Stoke City. Fulham signed the experienced Olivier Dacourt on loan from Inter. Portsmouth, just one point above the relegation zone, signed Greece midfielder Angelos Bassinos from AEK Athens but decided against going ahead with a move to bring in Spurs's Giovani dos Santos. Sunderland's Michael Chopra was loaned to Championship promotion contenders Cardiff City while basement club West Bromwich Albion made two signings in Youssouf Mulumbu and Juan Carlos Menseguez. West Ham defender Calum Davenport moved from West Ham to Sunderland on loan and Tal Ben Haim also joined the Black Cats on loan, from Manchester City. Sir Alex Ferguson saw Manchester United centre-back James Chester loaned to third-tier Peterborough, where the Scottish boss's son Darren is the manager, on a one-month loan deal. AFP |
