The skill of Wolverhampton and Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane was yesterday dubbed "priceless."

And any Premiership clubs thinking of luring him away from Molineux were given what amounted to a stern "hands-off" warning.

Wolverhampton manager Colin Lee laughed off stories that the likes of Middlesbrough and Arsenal were preparing £5 million bids for the 18year-old who is Molineux's leading scorer this season with 14 goals.

"Talk of £5 million is a joke," said Lee. "That wouldn't even buy one of his arms and it's his legs which are supposed to be valuable."

Lee, wealthy in his own right from a successful antiques business, added: "For £5 million I'd buy him myself and double my money tomorrow.

"The stories are rubbish. Bryan Robson is supposed to have spoken to me about him yesterday but I haven't spoken to Robson for ages.

"In fact, no one has ever phoned me about Robbie Keane, or spoken to me, or former boss Mark McGhee, or made an offer."

Keane, who scored both goals in Wolves' 2-1 third round FA Cup victory over Bolton, and also impressed with mature international performances for the Republic of Ireland during the last 12 months, has three years remaining on his contract.

And Lee broke off from preparations for Sunday's fourth round Cup tie against Arsenal to assess his most valuable assets.

"Perhaps people are still assessing the lad," said Lee. "But he will improve and mature into a fantastic player, possibly a world class player because he has character to go with his skill and ability. He is capable of going to the very top.

"He has the greatest gift of all - the skill to put the ball in the back of the net. He has already been topping the goal charts season after season at every level even though he is only 18."

Wolves were given another boost yesterday when Steve Bull revealed he could be available for selection in five weeks.

Bull, recovering from knee surgery, still has 18 months left on his contract but there were fears that he would be forced to hang up his boots after his latest injury.

"I feared the worst," he admitted today. "But now I am just working to get back playing as soon as I can."

Meanwhile, Roy Keane is ready for the biggest test yet of his newfound self control against Liverpool on Sunday.

The Manchester United skipper has managed to curb his fiery temper this season and has picked up only four bookings in the Premiership.

One of those cautions came for a tackle on Arsenal's Marc Overmars in September, but that aside Keane seems to have found the cure for his yellow fever.

Keane's self-restraint will be stretched to the limit against Paul Ince and Co in their FA Cup fourth round clash at Old Trafford. The Republic of Ireland midfielder will be walking a disciplinary tightrope because he knows one mistimed tackle or word out of place will earn him his fifth caution of the season and with it a one-match ban.

The middle of the park in United's clashes with Liverpool is not a place for the faint-hearted, but Keane is determined to keep his cool in the high-noon showdown.

He missed most of last season with a cruciate ligaments injury and does not want to sit out any of this campaign through suspension. "If you end up getting booked or sent off, then all you get is suspended," he said. "The way things are at Old Trafford now with all the players who can come into the side, you don't want to get suspended because it is so hard to get back in.

"This season I've tried not to get involved in things as much. You can only take so much and so far I've been able to walk away. Whether that will last much longer I don't really know.

"You've still got to argue your point when things go against you. But you must draw the line somewhere because silly bookings and sendings-off cost you personally as well as costing the team."

United's priorities this season are clearly the Champions' League and the Premiership with the FA Cup third on their list of targets. But Keane insists that the United players are still desperate to beat their old foes Liverpool.

"The Premier League and the European Cup are our prime targets, but we don't want to lose to anybody - especially Liverpool at Old Trafford," he said.

"They are always special matches with Liverpool and the rivalry among the clubs and supporters goes back over the years."

The two teams boast the hottest striking partnerships in the Premiership in United's Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke and Liverpool's Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.

Cole and Yorke have scored 31 goals between them this season, including five against hapless Leicester last Saturday, while Owen and Fowler have managed 30 and shared four between them last weekend against Southampton.

Despite this awesome firepower, Keane feels there may only be one or two goals scored.

"Both sets of strikers are doing the business at the moment and looking at it there could be a lot of goals, but I can't see it personally," he said.

"I think there will only be one goal in it and hopefully we will score it."