The Black Cats are third in the League One standings and are one of the contenders to be promoted back to the Championship this season.
But Johnson was sacked over the weekend after a disastrous 6-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers and the club are now looking to bring in a new manager.
There have been rumours doing the rounds that Keane could be back in charge of Sunderland 13 years after his first reign as Black Cats managed ended.
And it has been claimed that Sunderland are indeed looking to interview their former midfielder for the managerial role.
The hierarchy are planning to speak to the 50-year-old in the coming days as part of their plans.
Keane led Sunderland to the Championship title in 2007 in his first job in management and had a solid first season in the Premier League as well.
The former midfielder has strong support within the club and many feel he is the kind of character who could reignite their promotion push.
However, Keane has been out of football since leaving his role as Nottingham Forest assistant manager in 2019 and his last top job was at Ipswich Town eleven years ago.
