Next Preston Manager Odds: Robbie Keane Emerges as Deepdale Contender
Preston North End's search for a new head coach has thrown up an unexpected name, with reports linking former Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane to the Deepdale job.
The Lilywhites have been without a permanent manager since sacking Paul Heckingbottom on Sunday, with the club bottom of the Championship after six defeats from their opening seven games.
Coach Jason Euell has taken interim charge, starting with Saturday's trip to QPR before the three-week international break.
According to journalist Alan Nixon, Keane is a "live contender" for the role and could be tempted into his first job in English club management, though Nixon has cautioned that persuading him won't be straightforward.
There's a Leeds United thread running through the links too.
Preston director Peter Ridsdale was chairman at Elland Road during Keane's playing days there, and that prior relationship is reportedly seen as another point in Preston's favour.
UK betting sites are yet to price up a market on Heckingbottom's permanent successor.
Who Is Robbie Keane?
Keane, 46, is Ireland's all-time top scorer with 68 goals in 146 caps, and had a decorated club career spanning Wolves, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham, Aston Villa and LA Galaxy.
He scored 122 goals in 306 appearances for Spurs, won the League Cup with them in 2008, and added three MLS Cups at Galaxy, where he remains hugely popular.
His coaching career has moved fast since he stepped away from playing.
After a short spell as player-manager at Indian Super League side ATK in 2018, he took his first senior head coach role at Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Israeli Premier League and the Toto Cup before leaving at the end of the 2023-24 season.
He was appointed manager of Hungarian club Ferencvaros in January 2025 and won the league in his first season.
Ferencvaros followed that up with a domestic cup and a run to the Europa League round of 16, finishing second in the league behind champions Gyori ETO, before Keane left the role this summer.
That departure put him in the frame for the Celtic job over the summer, where he was reportedly a serious contender before Martin O'Neill was kept on for another season.
Preston now represents his most concrete route into English football since he hung up his boots.
This page will be updated if a formal market opens or a frontrunner emerges.
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