Celtic admit they can't afford to buy Keane as Spurs insist on no new loan

Published: 19 Mar 2010 - 18:12:42

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Celtic admit they can't afford to buy Keane as Spurs insist on no new loan

Tony Mowbray has urged Celtic fans to enjoy watching Robbie Keane for the rest of the season as the club have no chance of buying him in the summer. The Republic of Ireland striker has scored eight goals in eight games since arriving on loan from Tottenham in January. But Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has said he will not be loaning Keane out again which means Celtic would have to come up with a substantial transfer fee if they want to keep him in Glasgow. Expensive: Celtic cannot afford to buy on-loan Tottenham striker Robbie Keane However, Celtic boss Mowbray ruled out a permanent deal ahead of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with St Johnstone at Parkhead. 'If he goes back to Tottenham at the end of the season all we can do is hope he enjoyed his time at Celtic and contributed some goals, which he already has done, and hopefully made some enjoyment for the supporters. 'But football is very much about finance these days and Robbie Keane is way out of our structure. 'He cost Spurs £12million. I don't think that our board are going to loosen the purse strings that much. Target man: Keane has scored eight goals in eight games for his new club Celtic 'I wouldn't dare tell Harry Redknapp what his best options would be, but I do know that Robbie will have benefited from playing regular football and he has shown the quality that he possesses. 'Harry has some pretty special players at his disposal and Robbie is here because Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko were competition forhim and obviously he wanted to play. He may face similar challenges when he goesback. 'But when was the last time a Scottish club played £12million for a player? Was it Tore Andre Flo? Those days are long gone in the Scottish game, I think.' Tottenham blow as Jermain Defoe is ruled for weeks after hamstring tear Sunderland boss Steve Bruce looks to make Alan Hutton's loan deal from Spurs permanent SPURS FC