Debate: Is Benitez right to show Keane the cold shoulder?

Steven Gerrard has hinted that Robbie Keane could be sold by Liverpool in January as he struggles to establish himself at Anfield.

Keane has been plagued by poor form since his £20.3million move from Tottenham Hotspur in August and he has been linked with a move back to the capital when the transfer window reopens in January.

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, has denied that he will offload Keane, insisting he remains a key part of his plans, while the player himself has reiterated his desire to stay on Merseyside and fight for his place.

However, Mark Lawrenson, in an interview with Irish radio station Today FM, claims Gerrard has told him Keane could be sold in January.

"Sorry to name drop but I had a drink with Steven Gerrard at a function on Saturday night, and we were talking about Robbie Keane," Lawrenson said. "He was saying to me that they [Keane and Gerrard] share the same agent and he thinks something is going to happen with Robbie Keane in January.

"He thinks he's going to be moved on."

The nightmare start to Keane's Liverpool career reached a nadir on Saturday afternoon when Benitez left the striker on the substitutes' bench as Liverpool pushed for a winner against Hull City. For the second weekend running, Keane was left to scamper up and down the touchline as first Nabil El Zhar, then Ryan Babel and most tellingly Lucas Leiva were thrown on to try to make the breakthrough.