Keane becomes most expensive teenager in British game

Coventry City yesterday agreed to make Robbie Keane the most expensive teenager in British football when they agreed to pay Wolverhampton Wanderers £5 million rising by a further £1 million based on club and international appearances for the 19-year-old Republic of Ireland striker.

Only recently the Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson claimed he would pay no more than £500,000 for Keane while his Aston Villa counterpart John Gregory withdrew his £5.5 million offer after deciding that the youngster may not be ready for regular Premiership football.

Richardson countered: "If Robbie has a couple of good seasons with us then I would expect his value to increase to around £10 million. We would not have paid out this kind of money for a player who is 28, but he is the right age and fits our bill perfectly." Keane has signed a five-year contract at Highfield Road, but there is thought to be a clause which would allow him to leave if Coventry are relegated. He will make his debut at home to Derby County tomorrow, and will then have an early opportunity to prove Alex Ferguson wrong.

Coventry play hosts to the treble winners in a Premiership game on Wednesday night. Keane himself would not be drawn on the recent criticism from both Ferguson and Gregory, while the Coventry manager Gordon Strachan declared: "Only time will tell."

Liverpool will move a step closer to cutting their losses on defender Phil Babb today as a £1 million transfer to Derby moves a step closer.

The 28-year-old centre-half, signed for £3.6 million four years ago but is now on manager Gerard Houllier's rejects list.

And his imminent departure for Premiership rivals Derby could be completed by early next week.

Derby hope to send defender Igor Stimac to West Ham in exchange for midfielder Marc Keller, making Jim Smith's need for a central defender all the more pressing. The £1 million cash injection will, in turn, allow Houllier to solve his biggest current concern, the need for a leftback. The Liverpool boss is looking overseas and checked on the form of the French under-21s in midweek having given up on trying to sign a British defender.