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Kane is one of 45 players taking part in the PFA’s 12-week pre-season camp, having spent earlier this week in Champneys Springs, Leicestershire, preparing for Argentina.
The initiative, now in its third year, aims to provide a competitive environment for out-of-contract players interested in finding a new club.
At 33, Keane feels he has “a few years” left and has not given up hope of adding to his five senior Republic of Ireland caps, making the opposite move to twin brother Michael, who played his youth football for England but is senior for the country where his father was born.
“I know a couple of guys that camped last season and spoke really highly,” Keane said.
“I almost feel like I’m part of a squad, and we’re away for pre-season. There’s a lot of staff; medical, coaching, administrative, media.
“It’s quite competitive and there’s seven or eight games, so clubs can see you’re playing. There’s an app clubs can sign up to. It’s like a PFA transfer list – all our training information is on it. Clubs can contact us directly, so hopefully if you go somewhere you can get in straight away.”
Keen is feeling pretty relieved about his situation. He was previously out of contract in 2020, when Covid hit and Ipswich decided they did not want to trigger a one-year option due to the financial uncertainty at the time.
Eventually, Keane returned to Wigan, the eight clubs he has played for so far, making 335 senior appearances and scoring 85 goals.
It was also the time when he changed his mental approach to the game.
That first devastating ACL injury would be bad enough. But he also entered “with his groin.” United’s FA Cup tie at Shrewsbury In February 2016.
It meant 17-year-old Marcus Rashford, not Keane, was on the bench for the Europa League tie against Midtjylland three days later when Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up and had to be withdrawn.
Due to Louis van Gaal’s debut, Rashford scored twice and then added two more goals in a Premier League game with Arsenal.
“I went to America for an operation, landed in Philadelphia, turned on my phone and saw he scored two more goals,” Keane said.
At 23, Keane knew the day was over for him at United. The club he and his family supported, where it seemed certain he would be a first-team player.
Worse was to follow.
“It was hard to take, but I had to move on. I got a good move to Hull, who have just been promoted to the Premier League,” Keane said.
In his sixth game, he suffered another ACL injury and was out for 14 months.
“It was crushing,” he said. “I missed the whole season, and we got relegated. A lot of young lads still got good moves; Harry Maguire went to Leicester, Andy Robertson went to Liverpool, Sam Clucas went to Swansea.”
