Former Manchester United hardman Roy Keane has emerged as a shock contender to coach A-League club Melbourne Victory.

Keane is currently holidaying with his family in Australia, and was a spectator at Sydney FC's Asian Champions League clash with Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday night.

The Victory have declined to comment on the speculation linking Keane to the job.

But it is understood the 39-year-old could hold informal talks by the weekend with Victory officials about the position.

Irishman Keane had a decorated playing career with English clubs Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, leading the Red Devils to success after success in his 12 years at Old Trafford.

His management career has been mixed - with early success at Sunderland, getting the club promoted to the Premier League.

But it was followed by failure at Championship club Ipswich Town, who sacked him in January.

Keane's former Manchester United teammate Mark Bosnich believes the Victory could make a huge international splash for the A-League by signing him.

"(It's) not only a good story, but it would be very good for the A-League, football and sport in this country," Bosnich told foxsports.com.au.

"Let's hope that something does eventuate from it."

A UK source who has worked with Keane said it could be the ideal move for both the Victory and the Irishman, whose managerial career has stalled in England after such a promising start.

"Keane would have the respect of the dressing room and the fans, no question. He has presence for sure," the source said.

"But his Achilles heel has been that he struggles managing players of lesser talent than he had - players who can't do the things he did as a player.

"Short-term he'd struggle to get another job here. It all went so pear-shaped at Ipswich.

"So Australia could be a perfect fit to get it all going again."

Keane did little to fuel the rampant speculation by declining to answer questions about the Victory job when approached in Sydney.

But Bosnich said it was Keane's nature not to build hopes if he wasn't 100 per cent committed to something.

"If it is the early stages of talking to teams, there's no need to make a song and dance about it," Bosnich said.

"In terms of him personally, I totally understand that knowing the character that he is. He's a very private man, a very dignified man."

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