Roy Keane backed to make shock Man Utd return and replace Erik ten Hag as Irishman's former team-mate tells him to 'clean house' at Old Trafford

Ten Hag's future allegedly hangs in the balance as INEOS might show him the door at the end of the campaign if the manager fails to guide the Red Devils to a European spot. There has been intense speculation on his potential successor as several names have been floated, including Zinedine Zidane, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Tuchel and Roberto De Zerbi.

However, former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi believes that club legend Keane is the ideal candidate to replace Ten Hag as he has the perfect understanding of the "culture" at Old Trafford. Rossi did share the Red Devils' dressing room with Keane for a brief period in the early 2000s and has witnessed first-hand the no-nonsense approach of the legendary midfielder, which he thinks could be crucial to turning around the fortunes of a lackadaisical United squad.

Speaking to DAZN, Rossi said: "When I think about potentially having Roy Keane as manager at Old Trafford, that sounds like it could be really great. It would be something very cool. The club should definitely think about it if they have a change in management. A man who is a legend of the club and helped build their culture, that’s exactly what is needed.

"Maybe some of the players that are not playing for the shirt would understand it more. Maybe you need someone to go into Manchester United and clean the house so to speak and build from there. It could be a great situation."

Keane fired Sunderland to the Premier League in his first full season as manager during the 2006-07 campaign but his tenure turned sour soon after, and he struggled to carve out a name for himself in his subsequent stint at Ipswich. Although he has also worked as an assistant manager with the Ireland national team, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, the Sky Sports pundit is well aware that his CV does not "warrant" him being in the frame for such a high-profile job as United.

When asked by Gary Neville, on his show The Overlap Live, if he would take up the reins of his former club he said: "That’s never going to happen. My CV wouldn’t warrant it - it’s as simple as that, The Man Utd job is a tough job.”

Ten Hag will reportedly need to take a massive pay cut if he continues at Old Trafford next season as United are unlikely to make it into the top four of the Premier League. Nonetheless, an improved showing in the final six games of the league and in the final of the FA Cup on May 25 against derby rivals Manchester City might help him revive his stock, which has taken a massive beating after a horrific display against Championship side Coventry in the FA Cup semi-finals.