Sunderland co-owner Juan Sartori aims dig at Roy Keane following 2022 return links

Juan Sartori has spoken about Roy Keane's potential return to Sunderland two-years ago after the sacking of Lee Johnson.

Keane has been linked with a return to management numerous times in the last couple of years and came close to taking the Sunderland job in 2022 before Alex Neil’s eventual appointment.

Speculation was rife that the former Manchester United legend was on the verge of returning to the club he led to promotion to the Premier League back in 2007 with talks taking place between club and coach before eventually reaching an impasse.

“Roy Keane would have been fun," said Sartori when asked about the Keane links during season three of Sunderland Til I Die. “It definitely would have been good for the Netflix series, but maybe we would have had a third season of disastrous finishes!”

Speaking to The Overlap recently, Keane hinted to why he rejected the Sunderland job: "There are a lot of people out of work who are scared to say no to jobs and they will go in under any circumstances, even if the contract is only for a year and there’s no payoff and you can’t bring any staff in," Roy Keane said on The Overlap. "It depends on the club. There are that many managers out there desperate for work, they are desperate for work!"

Keane continued: “You can sit down with a club and have all the positive chats. I think I was asked a couple of years ago and I spoke to one or two clubs and a club offered me a job, maybe two years ago. It was all great and it was all positive, good feedback and then they give you an offer and you think nah, I cannot sign that contract. I can’t.

"Thank god that I’m not that desperate that I need to sign it because I go back and I say to people that you need to have a little bit of self-worth," Keane concluded.

Keane has also recently been linked to a national team job after the Republic of Ireland recently announced that Stephen Kenny would not be given a new contract, a decision that has fuelled speculation regarding the future of the national team. Keane, who has acted as assistant to former ROI boss Martin O'Neill in recent times, is thought to be in the running for the role.

Sunderland ‘Til I Die series 3 will be available on Netflix as a box set from February 13th (series one and two also still available)