Sunderland have now been urged to hire this former Championship and Premier League manager.
Sunderland are biding their time ahead of a summer manager appointment.
Several names have been linked with the Stadium of Light job after Sunderland sacked Michael Beale last month, with Will Still mentioned more than most.
The Reims boss continues to be linked with Sunderland after being linked before the club hired Beale at the end of last year.
Other names have been mentioned too, with an emerging report on Friday saying that Sunderland are keen on Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl.
Sunderland now urged to hire Steve Cooper
Another name linked on and off with Sunderland is Steve Cooper.
Expert Graeme Bailey previously said that Sunderland and Cooper have a mutual appreciation of each other, following Cooper’s Championship heroics with Nottingham Forest.
He guided them to promotion to the Premier League in 2022 after previously earning successive play-off finishes with Swansea City.
Before that, Cooper made his name with England U17s, lifting the U17s World Cup in 2017.
And now, Sunderland and owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman have been urged to hire the 44-year-old Welshman this summer, after his Forest exit earlier in the season.
Journalist Dom Shaw wrote in a Q&A for We Are Sunderland:
“After months to prepare, they can’t afford another underwhelming appointment. Could Sunderland tempt Steve Cooper back into the Championship? He did a tremendous job at Nottingham Forest and is a leading light when it comes to working with young players. He’d be a statement appointment.”
Steve Cooper appointment ambitious, but it makes sense
On the surface, Cooper, given that he did a steady job with Forest in the Premier League after promotion and was heavily linked with Crystal Palace before they hired Oliver Glasner, might be an ambitious appointment for Sunderland.
But there doesn’t seem to be many Premier League jobs set to open up in the summer, at least ones that Cooper would be a good fit for and that would be attractive to him, whereas Sunderland might be a very attractive opening for him and many others.
It’s a club with great potential; on the pitch, it’s a team brimming with young talent and Cooper could have the coaching skills to unlock their potential, and off the pitch, the club’s academy, owners, and facilities are all that of a very ambitious club with huge Premier League potential.
What’s more is that Cooper and Sunderland already have a respect for each other, as Bailey previously said, so it certainly seems like an appointment that makes sense and that has potential to go through.
Sunderland would surely have to act fast though as Cooper would be one of the first names on bookies’ lists as soon as a job opens up in the Premier League or Championship, which is bound to happen multiple times between now and the summer.
Right now, it seems like Sunderland are considering all the options and going about things at a steady pace.