Leeds unveil £12m Keane they let go for nothing

Not yet 21, valued at £12 million, already worth a cumulative transfer fee over £30m; this Christmas in particular, Robbie Keane must think it's a wonderful life.

Keane has been at the centre of some seasonal heavy spending these last few days in England's Premiership, a spree that continued yesterday with Aston Villa's sealing of the £9.5m transfer of River Plate centre-forward Juan Pablo Angel, and which also saw Liverpool rebuff Chelsea's £12m 0ffer for Robbie Fowler. Had either Chelsea or Villa been able to secure Keane, presumably neither of the other offers would have transpired.

So it was Keane's arrival at Leeds United from Inter Milan on Wednesday that kick-started the current trail of falling dominoes and his impact on Leeds's league position could well be similar. Keane was introduced to his new public yesterday afternoon prior to today's match with Villa at Elland Road. It is not certain whether Leeds's latest no 7 will start against the club that has tried twice to buy him recently, but Keane will be on the bench at least. When he does strike his first ball in Leeds's all-white it will complete a six-year round trip for the boy from Crumlin United. In 1994, as a 14 year-old, Keane went to Elland Road for a trial and, despite being a Liverpool supporter himself, he was eager to succeed as his father was and remains a huge Leeds fan.

Keane even scored in the match but Leeds, then under Howard Wilkinson, did not follow up their initial interest. "I had a trial game and I thought I did quite well," said Keane yesterday after the official press conference. "But I never got that magical phone call. But my dad's thrilled now." There should be a sharp upturn in the numbers of "Irish & Leeds" scarves and tshirts being sold outside Elland Road on matchdays.

Instead of west Yorkshire, Keane went first to Wolverhampton, then Coventry and then Milan but last week Keane said he was called into a San Siro office to be informed Inter were preparing to sell him. "I wanted to stay over in Italy," Keane said, "but last week the club said they had accepted a bid from Chelsea. I talked to them but I did not think Chelsea were the best club for me. Inter said which club would I like to go to and I said `Leeds United'. I have a lot of friends there. A few days ago Inter told me they had agreed a fee with Leeds.

"I wanted it to work in Italy. I was working hard in training and it went well when Mr Lippi was there. But the new manager had his own ideas and I wasn't in them." He is in David O'Leary's plans, though. When Keane completes his loan deal and then signs a five-year contract in the summer, he will have taken O'Leary's spending to £76m in just over two years and while O'Leary has focused almost exclusively on youth he paid Keane a massive compliment yesterday by comparing him to Alan Shearer.

"We are buying potential, not the finished article," said O'Leary. "He is out of the Alan Shearer mould - mentally strong. He is going to be a great player. The bottom line is that you like to get good players and we have one. The aim is to sign good players, that's what it is about. I have a very good player who has a hunger to do well. We have both done nothing. We want to achieve things."

O'Leary then added of his signings: "If they are Irish then that is a bonus."

Although Keane is O'Leary's 16th signing - with 13 having gone the other way - the Leeds manager admitted: "We want a couple more and hopefully we can get them,". The apparently unlimited ambition surging inside Elland Road has already infected Keane."I think we can win the European Cup," he said - though having played in this season's competition for Inter, Keane is not available for Leeds - "there are some tremendous players here and it is a pleasure to be part of things. I am hoping we can bring some silverware to Leeds."

The vocal Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale did not try to inject any caution into the proceedings. On Leeds's unprecedented level of investment, he said: "The bank are supporters of this club and have been supportive of what we have been doing.

"Buying and selling is part of the day-to-day process of football. We are building to win things, that is why we are assembling a squad of top quality football players."

But will this be the end of Leeds's spending? "Never say never," Ridsdale replied.

For the moment, however, the Leeds focus switches from shopping to justifying. Keane has joined a side 15 points behind Manchester United at the top of the Premiership and eight behind Ipswich Town in the third Champions League spot, the latter position being the one Leeds must occupy in May if their league season is not to be considered unfulfilled.

But O'Leary has his injured players such as Harry Kewell and David Batty back and it is possible to see them winning all their Christmas fixtures - Villa and Middlesbrough at home and Newcastle United and Everton away. Four victories would constitute a title challenge. The money has talked. Leeds and Keane now have to prove their timing is wonderful.