Source: Telegraph
Liverpool reject £15m Spurs offer for Robbie Keane
Although Anfield sources said they would consider selling the player if Spurs increased their offer considerably, Rafael Benitez's confidence that Keane will remain a Liverpool player after the 5pm transfer window closes this evening looks well placed. [LNB]The Republic of Ireland international's future has been the subject of intense speculation for weeks now. He played only eight minutes of Liverpool's three key games last week and did not even merit a place on the bench for last Monday's Mersey derby or Sunday's 2-0 win over Chelsea. [LNB]Manchester City are also believed to be monitoring the situation in the hope of tempting the boyhood Liverpool fan away from Anfield just six months after he arrived. [LNB]However, any move appears unlikely, given the lack of time available to Liverpool to bring in a replacement, and Benitez said he expected to have Keane available for Wednesday's FA Cup replay at Goodison Park. He said: "I think he will be here at the end of the month, yes. I spoke with him about the game before, not about his future, and he is OK." [LNB]Unlike last Monday's match, Keane attended Sunday's game, politely applauding Fernando Torres's double salvo and leaving his seat just before the final whistle. [LNB]He was joined in the stands by the club's co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the first time the two Americans have come face-to-face since August and their first trip to Anfield since December 2007. [LNB]Both sat, accompanied by their families, in the directors' box, separated by around a dozen seats. They will meet Benitez and the club's chief executive Rick Parry this week and are believed to be ready to offer the Spaniard a four-year deal worth around £20 million, complete with full control over the club's transfers. [LNB]Under the latest terms to be drawn up, Parry will be given a brief more concerned with the club's commercial activity. Beating Chelsea has not been Benitez's only significant victory this week. [LNB]The former Valencia manager did not comment on his contract, insisting he was focused solely on enjoying a win which reignites Liverpool's title challenge. [LNB]He said: "It is always important to win, regardless of who is sitting in the crowd. We deserved to win. [LNB]"I haven't seen the replay of the red card, but I am sure that it was not a foul by Xabi Alonso, if that is what [the Chelsea manager] Luiz Felipe Scolari is saying. [LNB]"Before, we were in a good position in the title race. Now we are in a better position. But that can change almost every day, so what you have to do is make sure that you always win." [LNB]That task will be made easier by the return to form of Torres. His two goals on Sunday were the Spanish international's first at Anfield since May. [LNB]He said: "It was a fantastic night for me. Two goals against Chelsea, the first since the injury, and winning an important game. [LNB]"Winning will bring back confidence, of course, after so many draws. But there are many games still left and we have to keep on working right until the end."[LNB]
