It has been a tumultuous few weeks at Dundalk, especially for a club who have experienced so much stability and success over the last decade.
Having come within a few minutes of winning a treble last year, they have struggled greatly since the return of the League of Ireland. They have won only one of their league games as well as experiencing elimination from the Champions League.
Manager Vinny Perth ultimately paid for this poor run of form with his job. The search is now on for Dundalk's next boss and they have been linked with a huge name today.
The Irish Independent are reporting that Dundalk's American owners Peak6 are eager to appoint a big name manager, with Robbie Keane top of the list.
Keane's only managerial experience came during a brief spell as player-manager with Indian side ATK, but he has acted as assistant with both Middlesbrough and the Republic of Ireland in recent times.
He was dismissed from both of those posts earlier this year after managerial changes. He has been out of work since April.
It is thought that Keane is eager to get back into the game, although it remains to be seen if he would be interested in this post. He is currently based in Ireland but has spoken in the past about his goal to coach in England, with links to a coaching role at Tottenham ultimately not coming to fruition.
For Dundalk, this would certainly be a major coup despite his lack of League of Ireland experience.
The club currently sit nine points behind Shamrock Rovers at the top of the league, while they also have Europa League qualifiers to consider, meaning whoever takes the role of manager will be under pressure to succeed right away.
