RICHARD DUNNE has said Republic of Ireland colleague Robbie Keane and former Manchester City team-mate Stephen Ireland would be welcome additions to the Aston Villa squad.
The Ireland defender said Keane, a subject of much transfer speculation since his return to Tottenham Hotspur from a prolific loan spell at Celtic, could be the man to fill a void in the Villa team.
“The player we need is somebody who can play in the hole and link the midfield and forwards,” Dunne said. “If Robbie came to us it’d be a great thing . . .”
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp insisted earlier this month that he wanted Republic of Ireland captain Keane to stay at White Hart Lane next term.
But with Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko having fired Spurs into the Champions League for the first time, Keane may struggle to start as often as he could elsewhere.
Dunne also said Ireland, who handed in a transfer request after a season in which is struggled to find form and a regular place on the Manchester City team-sheet under Roberto Mancini, would be welcome at Villa Park.
“He’s had a bit of a stop-and-start season after the previous year when he was unbelievable really,” he said during a press conference to launch the FAI Goal to Work Programme at the grounds of Sacred Heart FC in Tallaght.
“I think Stephen would say himself that he wants to get more games and play more regularly, and if that’s not at Manchester City, he would be more than welcome at Villa.”
Ireland has said he wanted to move on from city, just 12 months after being voted the club’s player of the year.
Earlier this month he voiced his “frustration” at the lack of first-team opportunities since Mancini took charge.
Mancini responded by suggesting the 23-year-old needed to “change his head”.
Despite his recent struggles, Dunne still believes Ireland has the class to help Villa move forward. “Everyone in the Premier League knows on his day how good he can be, and he would be a great addition to any side.”
Dunne, who was named in the PFA team of the season, said he was enjoying the atmosphere and his football at Aston Villa, but that he was in need of a break to recuperate from achilles, knee and hamstring niggles which forced him to pull out of the Republic of Ireland’s friendlies with Paraguay and Algeria.
“Basically since January I’ve been carrying different things and every week I come off something else would be sore,” he said. “I’ve been having injections the last 12 or 14 games of the season, so just to have the opportunity to rest rather than going through more injections would benefit me more before the start of the season.”
Dunne said he was pleased with his first season at Villa, who challenged for Champions League qualification and made the League Cup final and final four of the FA Cup.
However, he was not worried about how his former employers at Manchester City felt about his form. “I didn’t have a point to prove to Man City. I was there for nine years and really enjoyed it. The club changed as a whole and they’ve a completely new team. My time there came to an end and I was out more to prove to the Aston Villa fans that I’d be a good signing.”
