Robbie Keane’s final stop in his rolling stone career appears to be the MLS. More specifically, the LA Galaxy, where Juan Pablo Angel has proven disappointing with his paltry contribution in front of goal. The Colombian will have to make way probably on a transfer to Chivas for the Galaxy to accommodate their third DP.
Keane comes with a price tag of $5m which is hefty change for a league that has yet to fully embrace the DP status. He joins a side that boasts David Beckham and Landon Donovan and there is hope his arrival will be the the crucial piece in their quest for success that has so far proven elusive. It’s a move that has the blessing of Beckham so Keane starts off on a very good note.
The upside: Keane is relatively young at 31 years in keeping with the more recent MLS acquisitions of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez. Which could translate into a number of productive years. He’s seen action in the EPL, the most competitive league in the world, and was part of a potent Spurs strike force that included Dimitar Berbatov, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Peter Crouch, and Jermain Defoe. The ROI striker is still a hugely influential figure in his national squad and continues to be their main goalscorer.
The downside: This move for Keane is a downgrade. It’s a signal that his struggling career in England was going nowhere. He did not fit in at Liverpool and on his return to White Hart, he plummeted in Harry Redknapp’s depth charts and forced to making occasional cameos. A move to the Hammers was not the resurrection that Keane hoped it would be and showed a player with waning speed and whose poaching instincts were not as sharp as they once were.
Would he provide the spark that Angel failed to deliver at the Galaxy? Angel’s creativity as a striker saw success in New York and Aston Villa. Such qualities are not necessarily additive in a Galaxy side where Donovan and Beckham drive the attack. Keane, a lesser talent makes up for it with his work rate which ensures a second and third chance to come good on the spadework done by Donovan and Beckham. The X factor is Keane’s vocal leadership qualities which might uplift a taciturn squad.