Golden Bhoy! Celtic lure Tottenham's Robbie Keane on £65k per week deal

02 February 2010 01:05
Celtic completed a sensational transfer coup on Monday night as boyhood fan Robbie Keane finally pulled on the Hoops. [LNB]Golden Bhoy: Robbie Keane joins Celtic on loan [LNB]The Spurs captain has travelled north on loan until the end of the season as manager Tony Mowbray sets about staging a remarkable SPL championship revival. [LNB]And to complete one of the most dramatic days of transfer activity in the club's history, Celtic also rejected another £8million inquiry from Birmingham for fans' favourite Aiden McGeady. [LNB]Now Republic of Ireland pair Keane and McGeady will team up in a bold bid to overhaul Rangers' emphatic 10-point lead in the title race, with the Active Nation Scottish Cup also firmly in Celtic's sights. [LNB]Keane is available for a quickfire debut in Tuesday night's SPL clash at Kilmarnock. [LNB]Chief executive Peter Lawell revealed how they finally got their man. 'We've been pretty persistent in the last few windows in terms of keeping in touch with what he was wanting to do,' he said. [LNB] Boyhood club: Robbie Keane is unveiled to the Celtic fans late on Monday night [LNB]'Thankfully, today, we were able to do a deal. 'We've known for a while that Robbie is a Celtic supporter and he's a great connection with the club and our fans. [LNB] Turing up in their droves: Celtic fans await the arrival of new signing Keane [LNB]'Up until today, things were not looking very great at all. Thingschanged this afternoon and we were able to put a deal in very quickly.[LNB] 'His situation at Spurs was made, I think, pretty plain to him. He always knew we were very, very keen to get him.' [LNB] Lucky number seven: Robbie Keane poses with his new Celtic shirt [LNB][LNB]Celtic legend Charlie Nicholas applauded the signing, saying:'Celtic fans have been waiting for a lift from a signing for a longtime. At last, someone - be it Tony Mowbray or whoever - has shown abit of imagination and asked if they can go out and break the bank andland Robbie Keane.[LNB]Old McDonald: Celtic fans show their delight in capturing the Spurs striker [LNB]'I've been very critical of my old club in the recent past, but thisis definitely one that will draw people out to watch Celtic again. [LNB]'Celtic fans are like Liverpool fans, in my opinion. They will giveeverything for the cause, but if you don't give them what they want,then they get very angry indeed. This is one for them to savour.' [LNB]Irish financier Dermot Desmond, the club's largest shareholder, hasalways wanted Keane's name across the back of the Celtic jersey andwill fund the player's staggering £65,000 White Hart Lane weekly wagesfor the period of his stay in Scotland - but Tottenham have waivedtheir demand for a £1m loan fee.[LNB] Spurs boss Harry Redknapp only gave the deal the green light lateyesterday and said: 'Going to Celtic is a dream come true for Robbie.I've decided to let him go on loan until the end of the season. [LNB]'It's a move that appeals to him. He is a Celtic man. To go up thereand play will be good for him, just like it was for Roy Keane when heleft Manchester United a few years ago.' [LNB]Incredibly, the Dubliner who grew up following the club, becomes the14th player to arrive in the Mowbray era - after just two transferwindows - as Desmond and Lawwell emphatically back Gordon Strachan'ssuccessor, despite a less than emphatic start to his Parkhead reign. [LNB] Irish stout: Keane will team up with Ireland teammate McGeady at club level[LNB][LNB]To cap a frantic day at Parkhead, Keane joined Diomansy Kamara andEdson Braafheid in the arrivals hall and Mowbray now has five toplinestrikers to choose from - with Morten Rasmussen, Marco Fortune andGeorgios Samaras all competing for places. [LNB]But it is Keane's arrival that will thrill fans after no fewer thanfive years of rumours about him moving north to his beloved Parkhead. [LNB]Those deals were always scuppered by finance - he has been involvedin combined transfer deals of £70million - but last night ambitiousCeltic were finally celebrating with the completion of his loan deal. [LNB]Enlarge [LNB]The departure of Scott McDonald to Middlesbrough, meantime, scarcelyregistered with ecstatic Celtic fans last night, nor the apparentcollapse of a bid for Spanish defender Ivan Ramis. [LNB]The Real Mallorca star was booked on a flight to Scotland at one stage, but changed his mind. [LNB]Top scorer McDonald rejoined Strachan for a fee of around £3.5m asthe former Parkhead boss made it five ex-Celts at the Riverside. [LNB]Sportsmail understands the little Australian, who scored 50 leaguegoals in 88 appearances after a cut-price move from Motherwell, haslanded a contract until the summer of 2014. [LNB]Middlesbrough funded the move with the sale of Adam Johnson toManchester City for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £6m. [LNB]McDonald's lucrative Riverside contract will make him a millionairesix or seven times over as he joins Stephen McManus, Barry Robson,Chris Killen and Willo Flood at Boro. [LNB]McDonald, 26, leaves Scotland as the third top scorer in the SPLalltime list with 94 goals - his last an equaliser in the Old Firmderby on January 3. [LNB]As the Aussie departed Scottish football, Kamara arrived at Parkheadin a loan deal from Fulham with a view to a permanent move in thesummer. [LNB]He was joined by Bayern Munich left-back Braafheid, with theDutchman also arriving on loan. Mowbray completed another 'project'signing in recruiting 18-year-old winger Paul Slane from Motherwell ona four-year deal. [LNB]Senegal international Kamara spoke to John Hartson, once histeam-mate under Mowbray at West Brom, about the move north and revealedHenrik Larsson was his hero as a youngster. [LNB]'When I was younger my football hero was Henrik Larsson and for me it's a dream to play for Celtic,' said the 29-year-old. [LNB]Braafheid, who has five full caps with Holland, revealed he spoke tointernational boss Bert van Marwijk and was given his seal of approvalto come to Scotland. [LNB] Transfer deadline day is just no big deal as Premier League big guns keep cheque books shut while Spurs striker Robbie Keane's Celtic switch is only dramaRobbie Keane completes 'dream' move to Celtic as Tottenham Hotspur agree to loan dealSpurs defender Alan Hutton joins Sunderland on loan for the rest of the seasonCELTIC FC

Source: Daily_Mail