Keane is expected to stay

SOCCER:SUNDERLAND HAVE received no contact from Chelsea regarding Roy Keane and fully expect the 36-year-old Irishman to sign a new contract on Wearside shortly.

According to reports in London yesterday morning, Keane's name has featured on a shortlist at Stamford Bridge following the dismissal of manager Avram Grant on Saturday, but Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn said yesterday that no one from Chelsea has been in touch about Keane and that once Sunderland have completed their definitive financial plan for this summer and next season, Keane will have a new contract presented to him.

Keane signed a three-season deal when he moved to the Stadium of Light in September 2006, one that will expire next June, but he has been most relaxed about an extension saying repeatedly that signing a contract is in itself not a copper-fastened commitment in professional soccer.

Quinn agrees, but while he and Keane have an relationship that exists outside a contract, for the sake of Sunderland, a new one will be offered in the coming weeks.

"I'm not overly surprised that Roy has been linked," Quinn said of the Chelsea rumour as it gathered momentum yesterday.

"But rather than fret about it, I'd take it as a positive that we must be doing something right as a football club. And remember, Roy is still under contract at Sunderland for next season and I'm pretty happy at this stage that he'll be with us for a long time to come."

Keane has spoken of Sunderland as almost a project rather than a job and he is committed long-term despite the absence of a fresh signature.

But both he and Quinn - and presumably the Drumaville investors behind the club - are aware that only ongoing investment in recruitment can sustain a climb that has taken Sunderland from the bottom of the Championship to Premier League safety in 21 months.

For that achievement to be consolidated and built upon Keane needs money for new players this summer. Having bid for Reading's Stephen Hunt in January, it would be unsurprising should Sunderland return for the 27-year-old Irish midfielder.

"Roy and I have had an understanding from day one of this journey at Sunderland and we don't really need a contract to confirm anything between us," Quinn said.

"But when it comes to signing new players, and for the players already at the club, for those reasons there will be a new contract offered shortly. Players need to see visible commitment - we are circling one or two targets - and we want Roy to be satisfied as well."

To date Sunderland have satisfied Keane's ambitions but it has come at a cost and Drumaville's funds are not unlimited. It is most unlikely Keane will be asked to sell players to generate money for the transfer market but he will be expected to balance the books as much as possible.

It would be different at Chelsea but then so would the interference from above. In some of the briefings emanating from Stamford Bridge it is said that Roman Abramovich does not want to pick the team every week, but he would like to be consulted. Such an idea would be anathema to Keane and his independence at the Stadium of Light is something he and the club are conscious of.

Whether Keane is being mentioned casually in Chelsea conversations or is being actively considered is unknown but Frank Rijkaard, Guus Hiddink and Mark Hughes at Blackburn each appear to have their champions within the boardroom.

Reports in Italy last night suggested that Internazionale manager Roberto Mancini is to be sacked today and replaced by Jose Mourinho. Mancini, too, is believed to have his supporters.

So many conflicting opinions is one reason why it is so difficult to decipher what is going on.

Even those employed by the club appear to be getting mixed messages. Dutchman Henk Ten Cate was brought in as Grant's assistant during the season and was widely reported to be departing in the Israeli's wake. But Ten Cate, who worked with Rijkaard at Barcelona, said yesterday that he will be staying.

"Half an hour before Chelsea officially announced the Grant news," said Ten Cate, "I was called by (chief executive) Peter Kenyon. He told me the news and he also said that the sacking of Grant would have no consequences for me.

"I would rather believe him than the newspapers. For me it's simple. I have a contract until 2010 and I feel fine in my role as first assistant."