Sunderland sacked Lee Johnson following a 6-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers for fear of their League One promotion hopes of imploding this season.
There were rumours doing the rounds that Sunderland are set to make a shock move to convince Keane to become their manager again 13 years after his previous stint ended in acrimony.
And it later emerged that Sunderland are set to interview the 51-year-old for the managerial role at the Stadium of Light.
It has been claimed that he is by far the number one target for the majority of the Sunderland board.
He has strong support within the Sunderland board and face-to-face talks are expected to take place soon between the club and Keane.
An agreement could be reached quickly between Keane and Sunderland if the talks are positive and progress well.
Keane’s last job was being the assistant manager at Nottingham Forest in 2019 and he has not been a manager since leaving Ipswich Town in 2011.
In his previous stint, he won Sunderland promotion to the Premier League and had a solid first season in the top tier.
Sunderland are third in League One and the board feel Keane has the character to get them back into the Championship.
