SOCCER: Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane is expected to make an announcement on Monday about his future.
Everton are the latest club to be linked with the 34-year-old midfielder.
"I can confirm we have had talks with Roy Keane," Everton manager David Moyes said yesterday.
However, Keane's adviser, Michael Kennedy, declined to comment on reports that he has been in Madrid holding talks with Real Madrid about a move to La Liga.
Bolton, Celtic, Manchester City, Portsmouth, West Brom, West Ham and Wigan have already expressed an interest in the Corkman.
"We should know by Monday what is happening with Roy," Kennedy added.
Meanwhile, Keane's former manager Alex Ferguson once identified Michael Ballack as the ideal partner for Keane at Manchester United, but the manager is steeling himself to the prospect of both men being added to Real Madrid's payroll.
The Spanish club's intervention has already forced Ferguson to end his five-month pursuit of Ballack and yesterday he spoke of his belief that Keane might also be bound for Spain.
Ferguson's information is that the Spanish club have offered Keane a short-term contract to the end of the season and that Ballack, having reportedly given his word to join United during extensive negotiations from June to November, has agreed a £6 million a year contract as the latest galactico.
"I've heard he's signed for Real Madrid, that he's already agreed to join them," said Ferguson. "There's talk about Roy going there too for four months, January to May, and it's quite possible."
Ferguson made it clear he would not be put out to see his former captain join David Beckham in La Liga but he will need all his skills to conceal his distress at Ballack heading for Spain.
When he announced a week ago that United had ended their interest in Ballack he came up with the explanation that the Bayern Munich midfielder, available on a free transfer next summer, was too similar to Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney. It was a flawed argument given the time and energy he had devoted to bringing Ballack to Old Trafford and it now looks far more likely he was simply trying to save face after missing out on another high-profile target, like Ronaldinho and Arjen Robben in previous seasons.
The emphasis for Ferguson is on proving United can get by without Keane and he took the latest step on this route by confirming Gary Neville as his new club captain. "Roy's gone; he was a great player here but we move on, as simple as that. Gary's a tremendous professional, a dedicated man, and in the end he made the decision easy for me."
Ferguson also revealed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may make his comeback from two years of injury problems in Monday's reserve match against Liverpool. "He trained for the first time on Thursday and it was a surprise to me because it was only Tuesday I was saying I had no idea when he would be back. He was flying in training and he's asked to play."
On Merseyside, Moyes has slammed the English Football Association after Tim Cahill was left with a three-match ban for violent conduct following a commission decision the Everton boss claims was "flawed".
Moyes was raging at the perceived injustice meted out to his combative midfielder. Cahill and Newcastle's Celestine Babayaro had been involved in a clash during last weekend's 1-0 win for Everton, but neither were punished by referee Howard Webb.
But because Webb said he did not see the incident the FA's compliance officers had the opportunity to act and have given both players three-match bans.
Babayaro accepted his ban - no doubt with the knowledge that he could miss two matches with a groin injury - while Cahill's ban starts at Blackburn this weekend and includes the upcoming Manchester United and West Ham matches.
Moyes questioned an FA disciplinary system which did not give Everton the chance to defend their player.
"We do not know whether they looked at our video or not. We were not allowed to be there and defend ourselves," the Scot complained.
