A former Premier League manager fancied by Sunderland this year has rejected an offer from a Championship club.
Sunderland remain without a manager, and there’s growing concern among supporters ahead of the pre-season and summer transfer window.
The Black Cats appear to be missing out on several managerial targets; Bo Svensson has recently taken charge of Union Berlin, whilst Danny Rohl has penned a new deal with Sheffield Wednesday.
A move for Will Still appears to be up in the air following links to Norwich City last week, but the Canaries appear to have other names higher up on their list.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is certainly coming under increasing pressure to find Michael Beale’s replacement.
But another name who Louis-Dreyfus was reportedly keen on has now rejected a Championship club.
Steve Cooper rejects Burnley approach
Former Swansea City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper was among the early favourites for the Sunderland job after Beale was sacked in February.
And Sunderland AFC News previously revealed that Cooper and Louis-Dreyfus had a mutual appreciation of each other.
Black Cats fans on social media often spoke fondly of Cooper and their admiration for his work at Nottingham Forest, whom he got promoted from the Championship via the play-offs in 2022.
But Cooper has now rejected the chance to become the next Burnley manager, as revealed by journalist David Ornstein on X.
Ornstein also adds that Cooper is ‘in contention for managerial roles at a number of Premier League clubs’ with the Welshman keen to return to the top flight.
Sunderland chances of Steve Cooper appointment end
Cooper always felt like an ambitious appointment for Sunderland. But Sunderland are an apparently ambitious club and Cooper respected the project, so there was definitely a chance of Cooper taking the job.
But with Cooper now rejecting Burnley following their relegation from the Premier League, and with Cooper holding out for a top flight return, it seems like Sunderland’s chances of hiring the Welshman have hit absolute zero now.
That, combined with Sunderland failing to pull the trigger on a manager and seemingly showing a lack of direction and planning could mean that Cooper fell out of admiration for the club a long time ago.
It’s certainly proving to be a tricky appointment for Sunderland, and the longer that this managerial vacancy stays open, the more it seems like a difficult job for whoever comes in this summer.