Ex-Sunderland Manager Roy Keane Reveals Bizarre Reason He Decided to Sign Jonny Evans

Roy Keane has offered a rather bizarre explanation as to why he signed Jonny Evans on loan whilst he was Sunderland manager back in 2006.

The 46-year-old, now a pundit with BT, was undertaking his first managerial role at the Black Cats and was after strengthening his side for the season ahead.

The former midfielder was always know for his gritty and combative style of play, and it would appear that that played a part in his scouting of new players.

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As revealed in his second autobiography 'The Second Half', as quoted by the Mirror, Keane looked at something that had happened whilst the pair were Manchester United teammates.

He said: "Jonny was a centre-half. He had the qualities of a Manchester United player, and he was bringing them to Sunderland. For such a young man - he was nineteen - he was very mature, and a born leader.

"Jonny was unbelievable for us. He lived with his mam and dad in Sale, near my home, so I picked him up there and brought him up to see the set-up at Sunderland.

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"I knew I was on a winner; I knew him, and I knew what he was about. I remembered an incident when I was still at United; there’d been a fight in the canteen and Jonny had looked after himself well - I think he knocked the other lad out. I knew Jonny was tough."

Evans' 'maturity' was recently called into question when he and three other West Brom teammates stole a taxi in Barcelona whilst on a mini-break. The quartet were all fined and Evans temporarily stripped of the captaincy.