Graham didn't rate Robbie, court is told - February 15, 2001
Tottenham manager George Graham had the chance to buy Robbie Keane, but didn't rate him highly enough, the English High Court was told yesterday! Graham believed Keane would struggle to establish himself in the Spurs first team, according to Director of Football David Pleat.
Pleat was giving evidence in the Alan Sugar libel case in which the jury must essentially decide whether Tottenham's lack of success was due to former owner Sugar or the club's managers.
He told the court that Graham had also spurned the chance to sign Croatian striker Davor Suker and England midfielder Kieron Dyer.
"I believed Robbie Keane was a top, top, top striker but the manager didn't want to make an offer. He didn't consider he wanted to purchase Keane," Pleat testified.
"I thought he was one of the few outstanding young players in Britain but the manager decided not to buy him because he wasn't certain he would be a regular first-team striker."
Arsenal bought Suker, while Dyer moved from Ipswich to Newcastle for £6.5 million. Republic of Ireland striker Keane went from Wolves to Coventry for a similar fee before moving on to Inter Milan for £12 million and then back to Leeds for a further £12.5 million within the space of two seasons!