Football

Jamie Carragher opens up on Liverpool transfer decision he "never understood"


Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has revealed ex-Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane’s move to the Reds was a transfer which surprised him during his time at the club.

Keane was signed for Liverpool from Tottenham by Rafa Benitez in 2008, but the striker lasted only seven months before returning to Spurs, scoring just five goals in 19 appearances and flattering to deceive for the Reds during his short spell.

Speaking to Irish publication The 42 , Carragher admitted he didn’t see the need for Liverpool to bring in the forward at a time when they already had a wealth of riches.

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t understand why we bought Robbie Keane in the first place”, Carragher said.

Robbie Keane was back in the Liverpool side (Pic:Getty)
Robbie Keane failed to make an impression at Liverpool

“What I mean is: Robbie Keane was a top player for Tottenham. But the season before, Steven Gerrard was playing up alongside [Fernando] Torres as the number 10. We had done it for the second half of the season, and I think Stevie set-up 20 goals.

“We had Torres up front. So, when we signed Robbie Keane I was like, ‘why would you break that up?’ People say you can move Stevie back, but he was playing that well there.”

Carragher also revealed that Keane and Benitez never saw eye-to-eye, and believes Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer could have been a success under a different coach.

“Him and Benitez just never clicked, straight away”, Carragher added.

Rafael Benitez and Robbie Keane 450
Rafa Benitez and Keane failed to click according to Jamie Carragher

Read More

Mirror Football’s Top Stories

“I think under a different manager, it would have worked.

“I just think maybe it was the wrong time, wrong manager. But I say ‘wrong manager’. Rafa Benitez might say ‘wrong player’.”

Keane never returned to the sort of lethal form in the Premier League he showed during his first spell at Spurs after his time at Liverpool, although he did go on to become a huge success in the United States, scoring 104 goals in 165 games for LA Galaxy.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.