Sources: Celtic sensationally open talks with Roy Keane
Celtic have opened talks with Roy Keane about becoming their new manager, Football Insider can reveal.
The Irishman, 49, has not managed a team for 10 years but could now be set for the Parkhead hotseat in a sensational return to the dugout.
A Celtic source has told Football Insider that discussions are underway with Keane and the club are ready to offer him the post.
If an agreement can be reached, it would bring him out of the managerial wilderness as well as away from the pundit sofa where his hard-hitting opinions are legendary.
Keane has a strong association with Celtic after ending his playing career with a six-month spell at the club he supported as a child.
He has been linked with the managerial post a number of times in the past and has been among the legions of candidates touted since Neil Lennon's exit.
Celtic have set their sights on Keane at a time when they are close to appointing a director of football.
This site revealed on 12th March that the Glasgow giants had opened talks with Man City transfer guru Fergal Harkin over taking on the key executive role as part of a major summer overhaul.
In an update last Saturday, 20th March, Football Insider revealed further discussions last week and a deal for Harkin was "90 per cent done".
But it is the potential appointment of Keane that will send shockwaves around football.
It also opens up the possibility of a tantalising renewing of rivalries between the Man United and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who has made such a big impression at Rangers.
Keane's last managerial post ended in rancour at Ipswich Town in 2011, following a more impressive spell at Sunderland.
But he has subsequently held assistant manager posts with the Republic of Ireland, Aston Villa and, most recently, Nottingham Forest.
Celtic are work on a complete shake-up of their recruitment and football operation on the back of a wretched season in which Rangers marched to the league title.
It is expected Celtic will appoint a director of football, a chief scout working below him and a team of analysts to crunch the numbers and provide state-of-the-art data.