Benitez eyes Keane after ruling out Villa swoop

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has admitted he is considering a move for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane after pulling out of the race for Valencia’s David Villa.

Benitez wants another striker after agreeing to sell Peter Crouch to Portsmouth and had been linked with Villa and Keane.

Villa is valued at 30 milion pounds and has already declared his desire to stay in La Liga, forcing Benitez to call off the chase for the Spaniard forward.

But Spurs are reportedly ready to listen to offers for Keane and Benitez has put the Republic of Ireland star high on his transfer shopping list.

“We know Villa is a very good player, we know the price and we know the players we have, so when you consider everything we decided he was one of the names, but at this moment, not our target,” Benitez said.

“I said the other day that he is one of the names we had on our list, but I can say at this moment that it is not an option for us.

“Keane is one of the other names and okay we are still working with other names. We were in contact and we will see now.”