Sunderland are currently in the market for a new head coach and there has been some movement with regard to one key candidate, according to the latest reports.
The Black Cats earned a hard-fought goalless draw at Elland Road on Tuesday night, further hindering Leeds United‘s hopes of achieving automatic promotion. The Wearside club have now taken four points off the Whites under interim boss Mike Dodds across his two spells in charge this season.
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It’s not been the campaign that Sunderland would have wanted after reaching the play-off semi-finals last term. Currently, Dodds’ men are inside the bottom half of the table, closer to the relegation zone than the top six.
Nevertheless, the silver lining is that the board will look to appoint a new permanent manager in the summer to succeed Michael Beale in the dugout with the hopes of challenging for promotion back to the Premier League next season.
One name who has been linked with the job is Reims boss Will Still. The English-speaking Belgian was touted with taking over from Tony Mowbray when the latter was relieved of his duties back in December. It was even reported that the club’s owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus held ‘positive talks’ with Still.
The 31-year-old has done an impressive job in France’s top-flight with Reims and currently boasts a 42% win rate across his 62 competitive matches in charge, even picking up two draws against Paris Saint-Germain last season when Lionel Messi and Neymar were still at the club.
Now, according to a report from French magazine Le 10 Sport, Reims are sounding out potential coaches to take over from Still this summer as it is likely that the young manager will leave for pastures new, giving Sunderland a boost in their pursuit of his services.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Still admitted that he would be open to joining a Championship team if the offer was right.
“I would work for a Championship team without a problem,” he said.
“If there’s a Championship club that’s ambitious, that wants to work in the right way and be open and honest about things, and really try and push to get somewhere, then I would love to do that.”
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Writer’s View
Still is one of the best young coaches in world football right now. Last season, he guided Reims, on a limited budget, to an 11th-place finish and this term, the French outfit are sitting in seventh, vying it out for a place in Europe.
It would be a step down for him to take over a team who are mid-table in England’s second tier. However, the prospect of guiding Sunderland back to the Premier League could also prove to be a challenge he deems worthy of taking the leap.
