Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has said striker Robbie Keane is free to leave the English Premier League club during the January transfer window, heightening speculation that the Irish national team captain could join the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.

Robbie Keane

Keane, 30, has been frustrated by his lack of playing time under Redknapp.

He has started two games this season and was loaned to Scottish club Celtic last year.

"He's not used to not playing," Redknapp said. "All his career, he's played and been a big player, and he wants to play. He could sit here and take his wages, but that's not him."

Keane also may be a target of Aston Villa of the English Premier League.

Keane has 91 goals in 236 games for Tottenham since 2002. He is also the captain of the Irish national team and had 45 goals in 104 international appearances.

Whitecaps chief executive officer Paul Barber previously was an executive with Tottenham and has a good relationship with the often-petulant Keane.

"Robbie Keane, having worked with him for five years – fantastic player, great guy – but we've got our minds open to a very large market," Barber said last week.

The addition of Keane would add some celebrity to what is sure to be a strong Northwest rivalry in years to come. The Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers begin MLS play in 2011.