Player Review
90 - Icon
Being Irish and a United fan doing Keanes icon swap was a no brainer. So after around 50 games what I can say he really controls the middle of the park with his positioning and his passing, the best of any midfielder I've used so far, as good as the likes of Pirlo who I've used in a few drafts.
His tackling and aggression are noticeably true to his stats, but be of mind that he does get outmuscled by the likes of Fabinho and Sissoko in 50/50s, don't expect him to be a beast. That said he does win a lot of ball, mainly because he is one of those CDMs that is always is in the right place at the right time hunting down CAMs and covering for over committed fullbacks.
His dribbling is extremely workable and mixed in with an impeccable first touch and laser passing he will rarely lose the ball if you play him right. I used Fabinho for a while and found him a little bit sluggish with the ball by comparison, Keane is much closer to the likes of Allan, though not quite so nimble. His pace isn't too bad, he feels faster than the stats suggest but I would definitely recommend to put a shadow on him. I would say he feels like exactly 85 pace with shadow and in around 77 without.
The best thing about him is his passing is insane, he has cropped up with plenty of assists for a CDM, played some amazing 40 yd defence splitting through balls and lofted balls over the top, I've not used a player who can equally pass and defend as good as Keano. The other great thing about this card is his stamina, even at the end of the game when he's tiring he doesn't feel much different and is still tirelessly chasing down attackers and taking great touches.
His shooting is not great, I took a few shots with him and they all hit the target but the keeper easily saved.
Finally I would say one thing to like about this card is he feels exactly like his real life counterpart, tidy in possession, great touch, great passing and puts in great tackles. He's not going to be the best CDM in the game, he's not godlike, but he's extremely good hence the 4.5/ 5. He does everything I pretty much want from a CDM, if he was a bit faster he might be 5/5, but then sometimes fast CDMs tend to overrun the ball and Keane feels very controlled and will suit players who like build up play.
Passing
Positioning
Tackling
Stamina
Can be outmuscled by larger midfielders
Shooting