McLeish Keane to make Robbie’s move permanent

If Alex McLeish has his way, Robbie Keane could be staying at Aston Villa after his loan spell with the club expires in March.

The Irish skipper was on fire for the Villains against Wolves yesterday, scoring two goals of the highest quality to secure a 3-2 victory and becoming the darling of the Villa fans in the process

Big Eck has less than two months to get the best out of Keane before he heads back Stateside for pre-season training with the LA Galaxy, but he hinted that he might swoop for the bubbly striker on a more permanent basis in the future.

Asked if Keane was worthy of a bigger stage than the MLS, McLeish didn’t exactly disguise his true feelings about football in the US and said: "It's one of these things he's chosen to do. It is up to Robbie."

"If he feels he wants to come back to the Barclays Premier League, I'm sure there would be some welcoming arms.

"I would like to think we'd be interested. We brought him in. He's paid his dues with that magnificent performance today. It was two great strikes. Robbie has done that throughout his career and it was no surprise to see him getting on the scoresheet.

"The winner was spectacular. Not many people shoot from outside the box these days but Keane has done that a few times over the years. They were two sublime strikes."

McLeish wasn’t lying; Robbie scored two corkers yesterday, probably amongst the best he’s scored in his career, encouraging signs ahead of the Euros and a warning that you write the man off at your peril.

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