Manchester United legend Roy Keane is closing on a return to the Premier League with Paul Lambert keen to bring the fiery Irishman as his assistant manager at Aston Villa.
According to reports, Keane is close to making his decision about the move and he is eager for the appointment to happen as soon as possible as well. The former Ireland skipper has had previous stints as manager with Sunderland and Ipswich Town and he is currently working under Martin O’Neill as the assistant boss with the Republic of Ireland national team.
Keane is expected to continue in that role and is expected to be announced as Scottish manager’s number two before the players return for pre-season training on the 7th of July.
The fiery Irishman was scheduled to travel to Brazil as part of an expert panel for ITV Sport but pulled out from the panel on short notice as reports emerged about his impending return to club football. Keane was, at one point, the bookmakers’ favorite to land the managerial job at his beloved Celtic after the departure of Neil Lennon but he pulled out of the race in favor of a return to the Premier League with Aston Villa.
The Villa Park club sacked their previous assistant managers towards the end of last season citing problems with their behavior and placed goalkeeper Shay Given and club legend Gordon Cowans in temporary charge.
It is being believed that the choice of Roy Keane was entirely the decision of Villa manager Paul Lambert who believes the Irishman will help in adding stability to the backroom.
Aston Villa is currently in the process of trying to sell the club and he believes the appointment of Keane will add more value as he tries to make maximum profit from the sale of the club.