Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp admits he wants to sign Republic of Ireland record goalscorer Robbie Keane to help guide his squad to promotion in the Championship.
Keane has been without a club for eight months since leaving LA Galaxy and has been assessing his options in recent times.
Now Birmingham boss Redknapp looks set to make a call to the former Ireland captain.
Redknapp told Sky Sports: "Robbie Keane is a proper player; a great professional and infectious character. He's a great trainer. He would be wonderful around the dressing room, showing people how you become a top-class pro for so many years.
"He knows he wouldn't play every week but just to have him around... I'm sure he'd fight tooth and nail to get a regular place in the team. They're all interesting but till you speak to them, you don't know.
"They're not over the hill. I went to Portsmouth in the same sort of situation. I went there and took Paul Merson, Steve Stone, Tim Sherwood - all fantastic professionals.
"They were proper blokes, proper men and we won the league. You want them to blend in with the younger ones.
"My ambition is for us to be in the top group this year, at least make the play-offs. Anything other than that wouldn't be a success for me. But to do that you need good players."
