Will Keane is without a club after his contract at Preston North End expired this summer, leaving the 33-year-old free agent to spend the past five weeks at the PFA pre-season camp as he looks to secure his next move.
The former Manchester United striker made his senior debut in December 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers. Aged 19, he suffered a severe knee injury while representing England's Under 19s in May 2012, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and missing the entire 2012/13 season.
Injury-hit time at United
Keane returned for United's Under 21s in September 2013 before a one-month loan at Wigan Athletic, where a groin problem limited him. Further temporary moves followed at Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Preston, before Louis van Gaal handed him two more senior appearances: one in the Premier League at Sunderland and another in the FA Cup at Shrewsbury.
In August 2016, United sold Keane to newly promoted Hull City for £1 million, with the forward signing a three-year deal. Reflecting on his United career, Keane told Mirror Football: "I look back now and it was the best place to come through the ranks and have that development. I was lucky to have a strong squad as a whole. At the time, the feeling was that a lot of us would go and break in and get around the first team, which a few did and stayed there for a long time. I loved it. I think the whole education, enjoying going in every day. It was a great place to learn our trade and to make that transition from academy to reserves. And then I think the coaches we had at the time were all brilliant. I see now even a lot of lads are going on to have great careers. I think you've seen it at United, haven't you, over the years? It's been like a conveyor belt. The aim is to always play, but if you don't, lads are still on to have great careers. It was the perfect place to be."
When asked why things didn't materialise at United, Keane added: "It's all ifs, buts and maybes, so there's no saying that I would have stayed there and played a lot more. But I think in football, a lot of it is timing, isn't it? I was quite unfortunate that I did have a bad knee injury at the time, which I'd just made my debut, and then it was the last game of the season. I did my ACL and then I ended up being out for 15 or 16 months, so it was a long time when it was probably a key part of the transition and getting around the squad. So obviously that hindered my progression then, and even then when I got back, it took time to get myself going, so that didn't help. And then I did it again, even when I left United and I went to Hull in the Premier League, played a few games and ended up redoing it. So then that was another year out. At the time it was shocking timing and it kind of killed me, but that is the way it goes. I've still managed to carve out a career. Obviously you never know, if I'd not had them, would I have stayed higher up? Potentially, but who knows?"
A second ACL rupture
Keane re-ruptured his ACL on his sixth appearance for Hull, in a 2-1 victory over Southampton in November 2016. He was sidelined for 14 months before returning in January 2018, and scored his first goal for the club in a 5-0 win at Burton Albion in April 2018.
Detailing the difficulties of recovering from two ACL injuries, Keane said: "Yeah, at the time it was a real challenge. I think the first one I didn't really know because I'd never had a bad injury like that before, I kind of just got on with it. It was obviously really tough to take, but I didn't know how long the actual rehab process was going to take. As it carried on, I thought this is never ending. And it was tough because I remember at the time I was thinking, even when I got back outside, I was really struggling to get going and thought, how am I going to be able to play again here to a certain level? It just takes time and a bit of reprogramming your body and your brain almost to do all the things you used to do, but you get there eventually. The second one was tough because it was almost like a second chance at playing at that top level in the Prem (Premier League). So that one was really hard, especially because I knew how long it was out because I'd been through it once before. That season we got relegated at Hull, so then I've come back and we're not obviously in the same situation. That was hard to take because I felt like I'd had some setbacks at United, but then going to Hull was a fresh chance, a clean slate, and then to have that, it'd be such a major injury again, ruining the chance of getting more games in the Prem was really hard. Like I said, I've always tried to be optimistic and look to the positives, which is not easy at times. Still managed to grind it out and play at a good level and been at some great clubs."
EFL career and free agency
Keane left Hull in 2019 and joined Ipswich Town before moving to Wigan Athletic, where he scored 27 goals in 50 appearances during the 2021/22 League One title-winning season. He reached double figures the following year in the Championship, earning a move to Preston North End.
He was Preston's leading scorer in 2023/24 with 13 goals and signed a contract extension until June 2026. However, he struggled in his second season at Deepdale and spent the second half of 2025/26 on loan at Reading, scoring twice in 14 appearances before being released.
On his future, Keane said: "I feel really good. It was disappointing not to have played more games at the end of last season, but I feel like this is a clean slate and I'm still raring to go. I feel like I've still got a lot to offer. I wanted to rediscover the form that I had a couple of years ago. I was playing consistently and scoring plenty of goals. I feel like I've still got that in me. I'm really itching to do that again. I had a few injuries early on in my career, but a few people in the game said to me, the coach and what not, that hopefully towards the end of my career I'll get them back. I'm not exactly a player who's always relied on pure pace, which I know sometimes as you get older you might lose that yard. But as long as you still keep sharp in the mind and keep getting in the right areas, hopefully I can still contribute and score goals. So that's the aim and hopefully I'll still have a successful couple of years."
