Robbie Keane is not wasting any time.
After the LA Galaxy announced the acquisition of the Republic of Ireland international on Monday, Keane secured his P-1 visa on Wednesday making him eligible to make his MLS debut in Saturday’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes (10:30 p.m. ET, watch LIVE online).
"He’s going to be a quality player in the league and I think he’s going to add a lot to our team," Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena said at a press conference on Tuesday. "We’re excited about his arrival. We’re hopeful he gets here to help put us in position to win a Supporters’ Shield and help us in [the CONCACAF Champions League]. To have a player of that experience and that kind of goal scoring record is going to be great for our team. I’m real excited. I think the timing is real good."
Keane will already be familiar to Quakes, having faced them while on tour with English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur last summer in a game which ended in a scoreless tie.
Keane, who completed a 2011 summer preseason with Spurs, will have one training session before the San Jose match, joining Arena’s side for practice at 10 am ET on Friday. He arrives into Los Angeles on Thursday.
The club also announced that Keane will be donning the No. 14 jersey when he takes the field at the Home Depot Center against the Quakes. The number was recently worn by forward Edson Buddle during the 2010 season.
The Galaxy are in position to add Keane to their roster after trading away designated player Juan Pablo Ángel to Chivas USA earlier on Wednesday. MLS teams are only allowed to carry a maximum of three Designated Players at any one time.
MLSsoccer.com will carry complete coverage of Keane’s arrival in LA, his first practice and the press conference to follow on Friday.
