Keane has medical but fee still to be agreed

With little over an hour left of the transfer window Liverpool have confirmed that Robbie Keane has been given permission to talk to Harry Redknapp about a possible return to White Hart Lane. Sky Sports says the striker is on his way to London to undergo a medical - no mean feat given the tempest of snow currently engulfing the country - but no deal has been finalised.

Keane was left for Anfield in the summer for £20.3m after making it clear he wanted to move to the team he supported as a boy. However, the Irishman - who was prolific during his time at Spurs - has failed to impress, and Rafa Benitez, who left Keane out of the squad that beat Chelsea yesterday, is willing to listen to offers.

Although the manner of his departure was a great disappointment to the fans, there was little of the resentment associated with the big money departure of his strike partner Dimitar Berbatov. Most accepted his wish to play Champions League football and, despite being sad to see him go, wished him well and gave him a polite reception when he returned to the Lane in November. For most, his return will be welcomed.

However, it is not quite as simple as that. For a start there is the fee - speculation suggests £15m in cash - which makes little sense given that Liverpool still owe £11m of the original fee. If we made a killing when we sold him in the first place then buying him back for such a large fee seems like letting Rafa off the hook.

Secondly, having spent £15m on Defoe's return to the club, why is Redknapp looking to reunite him with Keane? The two players struggled to form a meaningful partnership with each other in the past and little has changed since to suggest it would be any different another time around. Yes Defoe is injured but surely Daniel Levy should have learnt by now that reactionary signings, with complete disregard to long term policy, do more harm than good.

On the subject of Defoe, what does it say about Harry Redknapp's much vaunted scouting network and knowledge of the transfer market if his best idea is resign players ditched by Juande Ramos? Keane, Defoe, Chimbonda have all been rehired but who next? Teddy Sheringham, Chris Armstrong and Nicky Barmby?

It is clear that there is no discernable transfer policy at the club, no long term plan. Redknapp simply learns that someone he likes is available and then he uses the clubs seeming never ending financial muscle to pay over the odds, regardless of what has happened in the past. If it wasn't already obvious some might say it's getting a little embarrassing being associated with it all. In effect we simply paid Portsmouth £6m to loan Defoe for a year.

For the club to progress it needs to cut its ties with the mistakes of the past, including those players we let slip away. Keane made his bed when he engineered his transfer to Liverpool, now he should lie in it. Only Tottenham could consider progress to be taking two steps back.

In other news, following his omission from Inter Milan's Champions League squad, Ricardo Quaresma is the latest player to be linked with a move to White Hart Lane. However, given that Jose Mourinho wants a player - either David Bentley or Jermaine Jenas - in return, a deal looks extremely unlikely.