There’s been confusion emerging over the next Sunderland manager, with Will Still still widely linked.
Still, 31, is on the market after leaving Reims at the start of May, following six months of reports linking him with a summer switch to Sunderland.
Since his exit, Still has posted a cryptic message on social media, thanking Reims for his tenure with the Ligue 1 club, but finishing his message with ‘see you very soon’.
Whilst he’s completing his UEFA Pro License course, there was claims emerging from talkSPORT reporter Andy Brassell that Still was set to take charge of the Black Cats.
Brassell suggested that he’d seen Still house-hunting in the north-east. The claim obviously garnered a strong reaction from Sunderland fans who put two and two together, but Brassell has since had to backtrack on his comments.
Andy Brassell clarifies Will Still to Sunderland comments
The news was reported elsewhere in the media. Brassell then had to take to X to clarify that what he said was a joke, and that he hadn’t really seen Still in the north-east looking for a new home.
Brassell posted on X:
Still is no closer to landing the Sunderland now than he was six months ago, going off of what’s been revealed so far in the media.
It looks like Still is currently focussing on finishing his UEFA Pro License course whilst Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman bide some more time before bringing in their next manager.
Bayern Munich youth coach Rene Maric is another name being closely linked with a move to the Stadium of Light this summer, whilst Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl now looks unlikely to leave after guiding the Owls to safety on the final day of the season.
Next Sunderland manager starting to look clear now
Still’s Reims exit certainly seems well-timed; if not perfectly-timed with Sunderland’s season now over.
For Louis-Dreyfus, what would’ve been a potentially expensive appointment is now a free one, so from that viewpoint, Still to Sunderland makes sense.
And Still now pressing on with his UEFA course, as shown on his Instagram story on Monday, suggests that he’s looking to finally complete that and become a Pro License holder, which would hold him in much greater stead when applying for new jobs.
Or it might yet be part of the requirements for the Sunderland job. Louis-Dreyfus will of course want a qualified coach and Still is someone who’s been on his radar for a long time now, so it certainly seems like Still has become the clear front-runner to take charge at Sunderland after leaving Reims.
Nothing seems imminent, however, but there definitely seems to be something brewing at the Stadium of Light.