Sunderland have halted talks with Roy Keane over their vacant managerial position, 90min understands.
The Black Cats have been looking for a new boss ever since they parted company with Lee Johnson following a 6-0 defeat to Bolton at the end of January.
Mike Dodds is currently in interim charge of the first team and Keane had been heavily linked with taking over on a permanent basis. The plan was apparently to hire him until the end of the season, with an extension option to be activated if he guided Sunderland to League One promotion.
The club had held talks with the Man Utd legend over the past week or so, but he requested time to consider his options. 90min now understands that Sunderland have ended negotiations and will explore other candidates instead.
Earlier this month it was reported that Keane had even been informally offered the role, though club sources have indicated this was not the case. In order to return to management, he would have had to give up lucrative punditry contracts with Sky Sports and ITV Football.
With the Irishman out of the running, it is believed that Grant McCann and Alex Neil will now be considered for the role.
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Source : 90min