Fifteen years on, he hopes to become its darling. For all the talk of the burden that comes with being a £20 million player and one who, at 28, will be expected to make an immediate impression, it is the prospect of filling Liverpool's iconic No 7 shirt that is most likely to unnerve Keane.
But as he reflected yesterday on the fulfilment of a boyhood dream, the Ireland striker spoke of a determination to follow in the footsteps of the players — Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish — who made that jersey great and help to end Liverpool's 18-year wait for the league title.
"It means a hell of a lot to wear that No 7 jersey, with the players that are associated with it," Keane said. "I'm ambitious, I want to have my name alongside theirs and, hopefully, I can achieve that. With the players I have around me, I believe that can be done. I don't really remember that last title win [in 1990], but now I hope I can contribute as part of the team that finally wins the league crown again."
Having turned down the chance to join Liverpool as a 14-year-old in the belief that he had a better chance of first-team football at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Keane never lost hope that the club would come back in for him. Talk of interest from Gérard Houllier, Rafael Benítez's predecessor as manager, failed to materialise, but Keane will realise a lifelong dream in Spain this evening when he makes his first appearance for Liverpool in a friendly against Villarreal after his £20.3 million move from Tottenham Hotspur.
Whether Benítez opts to start with Keane and Fernando Torres up front remains to be seen, but the manager said yesterday that the Irishman's arrival would not only strengthen his options in attack, but also help to ease the burden on Torres, who, after scoring 33 goals during a phenomenal debut season, is likely to be a marked man next term.
"Managers and defenders will try to do things, but the presence of people like Keane will be another problem for them," Benítez said. "It will be important for Torres to have another player who can score goals. I could play 4-4-2 with Keane and Torres up front, or 4-2-3-1 with Keane on the right or the left [of the three].
"When you know you are very close [to the top], sometimes you need a little more quality, more experience, because last season we had a lot of draws when, maybe, with more experience, we could have won those games."
Keane was fined two weeks' wages by Tottenham in March after reacting furiously to being substituted by Juande Ramos, the head coach, during the Barclays Premier League defeat away to Manchester City, but the Irishman insists that he will accept Benítez's fabled rotation policy. Nor is he fazed by the extra pressures that come with playing for a Champions League club. "As a striker there's always a lot expected of you," he said. "You're judged on scoring goals and I think I'll bring goals to the team."
Benítez has conceded that he will need to sell if he is to raise funds to sign Gareth Barry, the £18 million-rated Aston Villa midfield player, although Liverpool have yet to receive any offers for Xabi Alonso, the player most likely to make way.