Liverpool striker Robbie Keane is on the brink of a return to Tottenham.

The Mail on Sunday says Keane is on the verge of a £15million return to Tottenham after being ditched by Rafael Benitez for Liverpool's most important game of the season against Chelsea today.

Benitez, who has also won important contract concessions from the club's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, effectively ended Keane's six-month Anfield career yesterday when he left the mercurial striker out of his squad to face Luiz Felipe Scolari's side.

Liverpool must win today if they are to stay in the race for their first League title since 1990. But the omission of Keane, 28, prompted Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, reeling from the loss of Jermain Defoe for several weeks with a foot injury, to move fast to secure the Irishman as a replacement.