Will Keane was considered a bright prospect at Manchester United and was handed his debut by Sir Alex Ferguson during the 2011/12 season, however a serious knee injury derailed his progress.
The derailment meant Keane was unable to make a future for himself at United, where he was loaned out to four different clubs, including Wigan Athletic, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End before joining Hull City permanently in 2016.
Now aged 24 and yet to make a senior international cap, Keane has contemplated making himself eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland while his brother Michael, recently joining Everton from Burnley for an estimated £30 million fee, represents England.
Even at youth level, Will Keane was renowned for having the ability to lead the line, which, in many ways is an underrated quality. His reading of the game has always been exceptional but perhaps, the missing part of the jigsaw, from those early days, is confidence, and you can’t blame a lad for lacking self-belief who has had such a difficult time with injuries.
But Ferguson wasn’t the only United manager to see something in Keane. Louis van Gaal handed him a first-team opportunity against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup, although following a four-minute cameo the player was dealt another injury blow — this time a groin problem, sustained as he hit the post with his first shot of the game.
Keane would then find himself on loan at Preston, where he struggled to make a meaningful impact. He scored just one Championship goal in 1046 minutes of football — across 20 appearances — as fears began to surface that Keane was not ready to compete at the top level.
Then again, injury to his anterior cruciate ligament meant Keane missed out on crucial years of his development, yet he admirably refuses to give up on dreams of playing in a World Cup.
In an interview with The Times this week, Keane spoke of his desire to play for the Boys in Green as he nears a return to action after another lengthy injury layoff: “They have some good strikers, but I was on their radar before the injury. I am an outside bet but if I can get back scoring goals I would like to think I have a chance,” he said.
“It is every player’s dream to play in the World Cup. Ireland are doing well in their group so they might make it.”
The 6’2 striker has represented England at every underage level up until the Under-21s but qualifies to represent Ireland through his Dublin-born father. But, as he suggests, he has a lot to prove this season in order to convince Martin O’Neill he’s worthy of making room for in a squad already packed with good strikers such as Jonathan Walters, Shane Long and Daryl Murphy.
It starts now with Hull where good performances will put Keane back on O’Neill’s radar. He also needs to start scoring goals to prove he is dependable because if he can’t do it at Championship level — like many Ireland internationals — the management staff, including Roy Keane, aren’t going to take a risk.
In many ways, Keane could become another ‘what if’ story but there’s time on his side to climb back up the football ladder, and what a wonderful story it would be if he won an international cap after returning to full fitness and rediscovering his knack of scoring.
