Blackburn showing interest in Keane

SOCCER NEWS:THE TONE of his reply, when asked a few weeks back whether he would countenance a drop into the Championship in order to secure first-team football, provides a strong indication that whatever about Harry Redknapp, Robbie Keane has not yet reached the point where he's started to doubt his ability at Premier level.

However, the Republic of Ireland skipper knows better than anyone how urgently he needs to get away from White Hart Lane over the summer. After the agent of Roma’s Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic sneered at the idea of his client moving to Ewood Park during the coming weeks, Keane must have been quietly pleased by reports in England yesterday suggesting Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Keen is interested in securing his services.

Vucinic, to be fair, appears to be able to include the likes of Juventus amongst his potential employers, while none has emerged so far for the Dubliner whose suitors during the January window seemed to boil down to the likes of Birmingham City, Newcastle United and, of course, West Ham.

Newly-installed City manager Chris Hughton is reported to be interested in bringing another Republic of Ireland striker, Leon Best, to St Andrews. The player has been told that he can leave Newcastle for a fee of around €5.75 million and while he has apparently indicated he would prefer to stick around and fight for his place, the club may look to move him on in order to free up funds for further rebuilding.

Newcastle were reported at the weekend to be keen on hijacking Sunderland’s deal for Darron Gibson but Steve Bruce is said to be confident he can land the midfielder. John O’Shea’s representative said yesterday the Waterfordman’s talks with Sunderland are ongoing amid some, less advanced interest from a couple of other Premier League clubs.

Sources close to Shane Long declined to comment on whether there was any truth to reports of an impending move by Sunderland for the Reading striker, but media reports in the English north east suggested the club are not all that interested and certainly not at the €7 million-plus price bracket being mentioned.

On the way out of Sunderland, on the other hand, is Andy Reid who is being linked with a move back to Nottingham Forest. Former England boss Steve McClaren would get Reid on a free transfer but he is also said to be interested in a €2.3 million deal for Keith Andrews who would presumably have to be persuaded his prospects of regular first-team football at Ewood Park are not all that bright for next season.

Alex McLeish, meanwhile, has given the strongest indication yet that despite patchy form and the odd disciplinary problem last year, Richard Dunne has a significant part to play in his plans for Aston Villa, with the Scot highlighting the potential of the Dubliner and fellow defender James Collins to help other younger players in the squad.

“I can see that character in a lot of the guys that are already there,” he said.

“Richard Dunne and James Collins are seasoned pros. They should be the guys that are really leading the way. It’s vitally important that these guys help the young ones. I’ll speak to the boys when we get them back.”