Arsenal had been long-term suitors however Blackburn Rovers moved into pole place and thought that they had brokered a deal. Keane even agreed to the transfer with Rovers boss Kenny Dalglish, frightening an indignant response from the Scot when as a substitute contemplating Alex Ferguson’s Eleventh-hour makes an attempt to enter the chase.
“I agreed a deal and shook fingers with him,” the midfield man later recalled. “I went again to Cork and, on the Sunday morning, awakened and I received a phone-call from Sir Alex to my home again in Cork and he mentioned will you come and meet with me for talks tomorrow. I mentioned look, I shook fingers with Blackburn and he mentioned don’t fret about that! Kenny was fuming!”
The Reds supervisor was decided to win this specific switch struggle together with his previous adversary Dalglish, the Liverpool legend.
“I can not afford to lose this participant,” Ferguson informed Forest boss Frank Clark, who changed the legendary Clough on the finish of the season. “You understand how a lot I’ve wished him for ages.”
It might properly have been a kind of sliding-doors moments. Blackburn had already pipped United to the signature of super-striker Alan Shearer and this was a participant equally as able to dominating the Premier League.
