QPR readying Robbie Keane capture after MLS Cup winner

QPR, 5/4 chances with Coral to be relegated this season, are preparing an audacious bid to sign former Tottenham captain Robbie Keane on loan from MLS franchise LA Galaxy this Janaury.

Tabloid reports claim Hoops manager Harry Redknapp wants to use the North American off-season and his former working relationship with Republic of Ireland record scorer Keane, now 34, to lure him to Loftus Road for three months.

It was Redknapp, however, who sold Keane to both Liverpool and Galaxy during his time in charge at Spurs, but the player has previously showed willing to maintain his fitness during the winter window by moving to Aston Villa on a similar short-term deal in 2012.

Keane’s old Tottenham strike partner Jermain Defoe is another name linked with joining Redknapp again, though fellow strugglers Leicester City (8/11 to be relegated) are also interested. Ex-England international Defoe, 32, is reportedly unsettled at another MLS outfit Toronto and is seeking a Premier League return just a year after leaving for Canada.

If QPR can land either Keane, Defoe or both, they will be getting proven strikers, who have eached scored well over 100 English top-flight goals, to supplement current attacking options Charlie Austin, Eduardo Vargas and Bobby Zamora.

Victory over Burnley, who are odds-on 3/10 favourites to go down, in their last outing moved the Hoops out of the bottom three, but scoring has been a problem for the west London club with just 16 in 15 Premier League games.

Having netted the winner in the MLS Cup final, as Galaxy defeated New England Revolution after extra time, Keane is high-profile States-side, because he also scooped the MVP prize for the 2014 season.

Of his interest in Keane, Redknapp said: “The MLS market is one that we’ve got to look at. Robbie’s a good shout, he’s a good pro. He would be the ideal type to have around for sure because he would give us something.” QPR remain odds-on at 4/7 to stay up.