Premiership outfit Birmingham City have put themselves in pole position to sign Republic of Ireland Captain Robbie Keane.

Skysports reported earlier today that initial discussions between the two clubs had already begun after Birmingham made an enquiry to Tottenham officials.

Keane is expected to leave Tottenham during the coming weeks after falling down the pecking order behind Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Harry Redknapp's side has recently been deploying a 4-4-1-1 formation with Rafael Van Der Vaart playing behind a lone front man. That further reduces Keane's chances of playing Premiership minutes which are vital for Keane at this stage in his career.

The 30 year old striker is coming towards the end of his career but could still offer Birmingham a few quality years in an area of need. Birmingham are lacking a creative focal point after the long term injury to James MacFadden and Keane seemingly fits the bill.

They may be out in front at the moment but there is a lot of interest brewing in Keane and there are sure to be twists and turns coming before the saga is concluded.