Season › 2016-17 › News Koeman not drawn on Keane speculation Lyndon Lloyd Friday, 21 April, 2017 26comments | Jump to most recent Ronald Koeman refused to discuss a potential move by Everton following the announcement that the defender will leave Burnley at the end of the season. The highly-regarded centre-half has attracted an increasing amount of attention from the Premier League's bigger clubs with his performances this season and it was seen as inevitable that he would depart Turf Moor this summer. Yesterday's confirmation that Burnley will sell him in the close season sparked predictable speculation in the media and Koeman, who has admitted his interest in signing Keane in recent weeks, was asked about him during his pre-match press conference at Finch Farm yesterday ahead of the trip to West Ham. He wouldn't speak further about the 24-year-old, however, simply saying: "I don't speak about [my] interest in players." He was asked to speak in general terms about his and Steve Walsh's recruitment goals for the summer and Koeman said that while it will be challenging competing for the top talent, he is confident that the Blues make for a tempting proposition these days. "I think it's a really interesting process for players and I think we will have competition [from] bigger clubs and it's always difficult," the Dutchman said. "But I think the way Everton is running and the direction the club is going makes it a really interesting project." Reader Comments (26) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Jim Bennings 1 Posted 21/04/2017 at 07:49:25 If this, or any of one key transfer targets are to go through, then we need to get it done as soon as possible before other clubs express interests. Mike Berry 2 Posted 21/04/2017 at 08:46:46 I think we will sign him as the so called top 4, bar Man City with Stones, have been reluctant to buy British centre backs, relying on foreign imports with high reputations. Welcome, Michael you will have made the best decision of your life. James Morgan 3 Posted 21/04/2017 at 08:47:11 I haven't seen much of this lad but I will trust Ronald's judgement and the general consensus he is a good player. I think Jagielka has got another year as part of the squad, not necessarily as a starter, so maybe just Keane would be enough to add to Jags, Williams, Holgate, Funes Mori, Pennington and any other young lads on the brink. I approach this summer window with a little more excitement than ever before! Matt Traynor 4 Posted 21/04/2017 at 08:58:35 Jim (#1), with Burnley announcing it to drum up interest, it's unlikely to be done quickly – they're interested in driving up the price. Can't blame them. Peter Lee 5 Posted 21/04/2017 at 09:17:21 He's carrying a stone overweight and he looks like a player who will find it difficult to keep that off. No evidence apart from saying the same about Steve Bruce some years ago.From what I have seen on the pitch, he seems handy enough... but we need real pace at the back to move to the next level in my view. Has he got it? Peter Morris 7 Posted 21/04/2017 at 09:49:01 Our lack of height in the centre-back pairing is certainly a weakness that is targeted by opposing teams. Burnley selected Vokes against us when he is not usually first choice, and Stoke selected Crouch from the start too. Our tallest centre back (Funes Mori) happens not to be very good at basic defending either. I like the look of Keane. He looks like a ball playing defender, whereas the lad at Hull appears less strong in that regard but possibly a more robust defender. I suspect that Van Dyke is beyond us – he will have his eye on a move to the capital. This position and a decent goalkeeper are big priorities for next season. Alan J Thompson 8 Posted 21/04/2017 at 10:00:50 Quite right, Mr Koeman, only tell the world about which of our own players should leave. You wouldn't read oh, I just have! Tony Hill 9 Posted 21/04/2017 at 11:09:27 I have some doubts about this player. He looks fairly standard to me and I didn't agree with the view in some quarters last weekend that his performance against us, his floundering for the Lukaku goal apart, was top notch.I suspect we're going to go for him and Ronald, no doubt, has satisfied himself. Colin Malone 10 Posted 21/04/2017 at 11:46:34 I've been impressed with Johnny Evans, 27 years old, very comfortable with the ball at he's feet, which is key in the Premier League. Also a good defender. Daniel Lim 11 Posted 21/04/2017 at 12:32:50 Haha Tony, what do you mean with the last sentence? Can't understand that especially after a long day. Tony Hill 12 Posted 21/04/2017 at 13:33:27 Daniel, yes, not a happy image that I conjured there. Tom Daly 13 Posted 21/04/2017 at 14:20:04 Absolute class act – Fergie was happy to keep him at Man Utd, and he knew a thing or two about decent centre backs. He got rolled by Lukaku at the weekend, but let's face it, there aren't many centre backs he hasn't made a fool of this season. He brings the ball out of defence with real confidence, but doesn't fall into the Stones trap of thinking he's Messi. Reminds me of Richard Gough in that respect.He's in the peak of physical condition (you couldn't possibly be playing league two football never mind premier league football without immense physical conditioning) and seems about as level headed as they come. He's most likely already decided on a destination – sticking him on the market now might drive up a price, but the club that really wants him is probably already in pole position. Fingers crossed it's us! Darryl Ritchie 14 Posted 21/04/2017 at 16:15:27 Is there a rule against talking about recruiting a player contracted to another club, or is it just a "gentlemans agreement"? Peter Lee 15 Posted 21/04/2017 at 17:00:03 David May, Steve Bruce, Phil Jones, Daly Blind, etc. Brian Harrison 16 Posted 21/04/2017 at 17:22:52 Seems Koeman is being selective on which player he will talk about and which ones he won't. When Sky turned up at Finch Farm some weeks back both him and Walsh both talked about the possibility of Rooney coming back. Yet he refuses to discuss Michael Keane, cant see the difference myself. I would prefer if he didn't talk about transfers in or out of the club, until they have been completed. Mark Morrissey 17 Posted 21/04/2017 at 17:24:21 It's seems such a shame that every player we go after seems to get touted around the press for weeks and weeks. Seems to make Steve Walsh's job an impossible task. How does he find talent without others knowing. Impossible. As for Keane well he's fair enough but I would prefer Maguire from Hull or Sakho from Palace / RS. Shane Corcoran 18 Posted 21/04/2017 at 17:24:41 You're right Brian.Martinez did the same but Koeman is ridiculous. He spoke about Keane in January too and now he won't. He seems at odds with the usual manager talk of saying very little on transfers. Bill Gienapp 19 Posted 21/04/2017 at 18:32:44 Keane would be a nice addition. I hope people haven't soured on him just because Lukaku torched him on that third goal this past weekend. John Quilliam 20 Posted 21/04/2017 at 18:55:28 If he signs and Lukaku stays another season at least, then playing against each other in training should be a good, 'education,' either way. Ian Bennett 21 Posted 21/04/2017 at 18:56:03 He's still got a lot to learn, but I thought he looked pretty good and commanding for most of the game. He'd offer 10 years of service.Badly turned for Lukaku, and the marking for Jags goal was iffy. If Jags missed, Lukaku was miles free. Will Mabon 23 Posted 21/04/2017 at 22:46:35 Illustrated above by Tom and Ian, is the crux of many goals. Was it the striker doing his job or the defender not doing his? If Lukaku hadn't scored that goal against Burnley, would it have been due to Keane's defensive abilities or Lukaku's lack of prowess?Quality vs quality, the outcome is never certain on any given day. Tony Hill 24 Posted 21/04/2017 at 22:51:05 Yes, until we observed the turn and goal, it was possible that Keane was both good and shite at the same time. Ditto Tom "the cat" Heaton. Roger Sunde 25 Posted 22/04/2017 at 02:38:33 Gianluigi Donnarumma, 2 full seasons in AC Milan, still 18 years.Already in nation team. Colin Glassar 26 Posted 22/04/2017 at 10:18:28 I was dead set against this earlier in the season but, the more I see of Keane, the more he convinces me. Harry Maguire, on the other hand... Jon Withey 27 Posted 22/04/2017 at 10:29:50 Seems decent and wasn't overly fazed by playing for England (a good confidence test).He could be a good fit but if the rich clubs want him and thy have a spot for him then there isn't much to be done. Joseph O Brien 29 Posted 25/04/2017 at 17:26:48 Roger @25 He won't leave Milan Milan won't sell him Every top club in Europe want him He will set a new record price for a GK if he ever leaves Milan Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads