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Birmingham eye up Keane move

Birmingham are planning to steal Robbie Keane away from the grasp of rivals Aston Villa in a £6million January transfer window swoop.

Tottenham are prepared to listen to offers for Ireland striker Keane during the winter transfer window, with Harry Redknapp valuing the 30-year-old record Irish goalscorer at around £8m.

Villa have had a long-standing interest in the Dublin born player but are reluctant to meet that price. Birmingham are also looking to pay less but are prepared to meet Keane's £65,000-per-week wage packet at Spurs.

Keane has fallen down the pecking order at Spurs but Blues boss Alex McLeish sees him as the perfect partner for 6ft 7in front-man Nikola Zigic.


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Spartak warn Villa over Aiden McGeady move

Spartak Moscow have warned Aston Villa off making any move for Ireland international winger Aiden McGeady.

Villa were rumoured to be interested in McGeady prior to his move to Russia this summer from Celtic and it has been reported they may now reignite their interest during the January transfer window.

McGeady has been hugely impressive at Spartak and the club's sporting director Dmitri Popov insists the Ireland international is not for sale.

"McGeady is certainly not for sale," said Popov. "It is not true that he is unsettled in Moscow.

"No one has approached us from Villa yet but, if they do, our answer will definitely be a no."

McGeady received glowing praise this week from ex-Manchester United star Andrei Kanchelskis - "I'd give him 10 out of 10. There haven't been many better. His quality on the ball has been excellent, his pace and mobility is now Spartak's biggest threat.

"I like his attitude. He's a winner, he doesn't give up on anything. This is a quality that all top professionals need, but not every talented footballer has it. He plays 100pc for the team. It's now clear this is a player with a big, big future."

Ireland v England June 2011

It is being reported today that the FAI are in talks with the English Football Association to secure a glamour friendly international between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in June next year.

The game, if confirmed, will take place on Wednesday 8 June and will be the first senior international between the two countries since the Landsdowne Road game of 1995 - a game which was famously abandoned after 28 minutes when English fans rioted and ripped out seating after David Kelly had put Ireland ahead in the game.

Ireland's Coleman named Everton player of the month

Rising Ireland international Seamus Coleman has been named Everton’s player of the month for November.

The Donegal born player had a memorable month as he cemented his position both as a regular in David Moyes’ first-team plans and as a fans’ favourite.

The highlight for the 22-year-old was surely in the opening game of Everton’s schedule as he scored his first Premier League goal for the Blues at Blackpool.

Coleman helped the Seasiders clinch promotion last season while on loan at Bloomfield Road and showed his growing maturity by refusing to celebrate.

The gesture was well-received by the home support, as had been his gutsy style and contribution to their success in last season’s Championship play-offs.

Coleman appeared as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Bolton but was back in the starting line-up for games against Arsenal and Sunderland.

There was also a second call-up to the full Ireland squad with Coleman an unused substitute in the draw with Norway last month. Trapattoni's decision not to play Coleman during the game raised many eyebrows among Irish supporters who thought he thoroughly deserved a place in the starting eleven.

Coleman told evertontv: "I was delighted when I got the text to tell me I had won. I had a good month and it was great to get my first Premier League goal."

Lennon predicts bright future for Ireland's Richie Towell

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has predicted more first-team action for young Irish international Richie Towell after his impressive debut for the Bhoys last weekend.

Dublin born Towell came off the bench to make his first competitive appearance for Celtic in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Lennon hopes to see Towell in the side more often.

"I thought Richie did great against Inverness," Lennon said. "I thought he was one of the bright sparks of the day. He had an abundance of energy, was good at winning the ball back and passed well throughout.

"He was also involved in Paddy McCourt's goal, which was our second. He has no reason to be critical of himself because he did exactly what we asked him to do and he can feel proud of himself.

"I would like to think that he would be involved more and more as the season progresses. We have been pretty pleased with how he has done in the last year. His level of performance has been consistent.

"We have a few players out at the moment and that maybe helped him get his chance at the weekend but, regardless of that, I am sure he will feature more and more as the season progresses."

Speaking after his impressive debut Towell said: "It was brilliant hearing the crowd's reaction and being in the middle of it all. It's what I've always dreamed of.

"It's been frustrating sitting on the bench all season and that's why I was so delighted to come on.

"I just want to show that I can compete at this level and hopefully the gaffer will give me another chance because I don't like sitting on the bench - I want to play every week.

"I thought the fans reacted well to me and I was pleased with how I did when I came on. I kept the ball and then I won the tackle for Paddy's [McCourt] goal so they were all cheering for that."