Quinton Fortune Calls for Roy Keane and Harry Kane at Man Utd
The mood around Old Trafford is darkening, and Quinton Fortune knows exactly the kind of storm he’d welcome to clear the air: Roy Keane.
Manchester United are seven games without a win in all competitions, the latest blow a bruising 4-1 Champions League defeat by Como on Wednesday. Michael Carrick is under mounting pressure, and while the 45-year-old is expected to remain in the dugout for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth, the sense of a crossroads is unmistakable.
Into that uncertainty, Fortune has thrown a familiar name – and an uncompromising personality.
‘Roy would raise the standards’
Fortune, who shared a dressing room with Keane during the Irishman’s ferocious peak as United captain, is convinced his former teammate would instantly jolt the club back towards higher standards if he rejoined the coaching staff.
“Roy Keane coaching at Man Utd would be a lot of fun,” Fortune told BOYLE Sports. It’s not the word most opponents would associate with Keane, but Fortune means it in a very specific way.
He remembers the training ground first.
“I was fortunate to play alongside Roy, and he was an unbelievable leader. He pushed every team to success and raised everyone's standards.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with him in training and matches because he demanded excellence and made you a better player.”
Keane’s glare has long since moved from the pitch to the studio, where his forthright criticism of United’s recent performances has become a staple of the modern matchday. For some, it’s too harsh. For Fortune, it’s exactly why he should be back inside the building.
“I have the utmost respect for Roy. If he speaks out, it's because he wants excellence,” he said.
“People talk about walking the walk and talking the talk, Roy did both at the highest level on the pitch. Having him around at Man Utd would shake things up and be a lot of fun.”
Shake things up. At a club drifting through another bleak run, it sounds less like nostalgia and more like a prescription.
Carrick under strain as Bournemouth test looms
Carrick, a very different kind of former United midfielder, now finds himself fighting to hold his position. Seven games without a win is grim reading at any club of United’s size; a 4-1 Champions League loss to Como only intensifies the glare.
The hierarchy are expected to keep faith with him for the visit of Bournemouth on Sunday, but the stakes are obvious. Another poor result and the conversation around his future will only grow louder.
Into that debate, Fortune’s call for Keane is striking. It is not a demand for a new manager, but a plea for a new edge. A demand for someone who, in Fortune’s eyes, still embodies the standards United once took for granted.
‘Go and get Harry Kane – whatever it takes’
Fortune’s prescription for United does not end at the touchline. He also believes the club should make an aggressive move in the market for one of the game’s elite forwards: Harry Kane.
Kane, 33, is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to win the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with the ceremony scheduled for Monday in London. Age, in Fortune’s view, is no barrier to a deal that could transform United’s attack.
“He's not young but given what he's achieved, Man Utd should go and get Harry Kane as soon as possible, whatever it takes,” Fortune said.
“If there's any chance of bringing Harry Kane in, do whatever it takes because the man is a natural-born goalscorer.
“Give him service and he will score goals. It's as simple as that. You give him service, he will put the ball in the back of the net.
“Just go and get him. Simple as that. If there's a possibility, there's a small chance of going to it. Don't wait any longer because what a player he is, my goodness.”
No caveats. No talk of resale value or long-term planning. For Fortune, Kane is the kind of player you bend the project around, not the other way round.
A club at a crossroads
So the diagnosis from a former United midfielder is blunt: bring back Keane to lift the standards, and break the bank for Kane to lift the goals.
As Carrick prepares for a pivotal Bournemouth fixture under intense scrutiny, the contrast with the era Fortune remembers could hardly be sharper. Back then, Roy Keane set the tone and United followed. Now, with the club searching for direction on and off the pitch, the question hangs over Old Trafford: will they dare to bring that kind of fire back – and pay for the kind of finisher who once made title races feel routine?
