Robbie Keane has boomeranged back to White Hart Lane for an undisclosed fee. A blunder by Rafa? A bargain sleeper signing for us fantasy managers? Read on for none of the answers to those questions but some more words on the matter nonetheless…
An extraordinary move by Spurs and Liverpool – Keane’s return will delight most at White Hart Lane. Liverpool fans meanwhile will be looking worryingly at a gaping hole in Rafa’s squad and wonder just who will fill the void should Torres fall foul of injury once again. Dirk Kuyt is not an answer that will have them sleep easy in their beds.
The only concern for fantasy managers however, is that Keane will now return to the radar. Situated in the mid-price bracket in most fantasy games, Keane started the season at 9.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game – right now he is sitting at just 8.1.
If Defoe is indeed out for a number of months (as suspected) rather than a number of weeks with his foot injury (as Harry has hinted), then Keane is surely assured of starts in Harry’s side alongside Pavlyuchenko. With that in mind, 8.1 looks a very decent price for a proven goalscorer and FPL bonus point earner. Keane notched 15 goals in 33 starts for Spurs last season, earning 22 FPL bonus points.
Keane is set for a low-key Spurs debut against Arsenal at the weekend. Nice. In the short-term however, investment in Keane looks unlikely with Spurs having a missing fixture in gamewek 27. After this, Keane’s fixtures are patchy with a potentially profitable game with Boro followed by a strip to Villa park and a home game with Chelsea.
Keane has shown in the past, and even this season (vs Arsenal), that he has the appetite for big games so in many ways, fixtures shouldn’t be a big factor when it comes to assessing his fantasy potential. Defoe’s injury is the biggest factor but I see this deadline day move as almost confirmation that Harry has gained one striker here, to make up for the loss of Defoe.