A new name has emerged in the race to become the next Sunderland manager.
Sunderland have now identified a new name in their search to find Michael Beale’s successor, more than three months after he was sacked.
Beale oversaw just 12 games as Sunderland manager, the second-shortest stint of any Black Cats boss ever.
Mike Dodds then came in but Sunderland would finish in a very disappointing 16th place of the Championship, winning just two of 13 games under Dodds.
A host of names have since been tipped to become the next Sunderland manager. But names continue to fall out of contention.
Bo Svensson was briefly linked before taking the Union Berlin job, whilst Danny Rohl has penned a new contract extension at Sheffield Wednesday.
But there’s now a new name to rival the likes of Will Still; Raphael Wicky.
Sunderland consider Raphael Wicky as their next manager
The Sun have claimed that Wicky, 47, is ‘a new name under consideration’ by the Sunderland board, but that he’s also fancied by Burnley.
Swiss coach Wicky played for the likes of Werder Bremen and Atletico Madrid during his career, later starting out on his coaching career as a youth coach.
The 75-cap former Swiss international had spells with the youth teams of FC Thun, Servette, and then FC Basel, with the latter eventually handing him his first job in management.
Wicky won 29 of his 51 games as Basel boss (56.85%) before taking over the USA U17s in March 2019, staying in the role for less than a year after he was poached by MLS outfit Chicago Fire.
But with the Fire, Wicky would take just 12 wins from 52 total games in charge (23.08%), being sacked in September 2021.
In June 2022, Wicky returned to his native Switzerland with Young Boys. He over saw 100 games and won 59 of them (59%), winning the Swiss Super League and the Swiss Cup during the 2022/23 season before leaving in March this year after a poor results in the Europa League, Swiss Cup, and in the league.
Would Raphael Wicky be a good fit for Sunderland
A previous report from Total Football Analysis gave a good insight into Wicky’s style of play when manager of Young Boys.
His style appeared to boil down to three things; having a high goalkeeper and a high attacking line, plenty of crosses into the box, and plenty of forward passes.
So it seems like Wicky is a coach who prefers a much more aggressive and front-foot style of play which will be great news to Sunderland fans, who had to sit through some very negative football under Beale and then Dodds.
And the fact that he’s reportedly on Sunderland’s radar tells us that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman have done their research and believe him to be a good fit.
But what the pair want from their next manager is becoming more and more of a mystery as the search rumbles on; expect them to want a coach with this apparent, aggressive style of play, but someone who can also work with younger players.
In the 2022/23 season, Wicky guided Young Boys to the Swiss title with an average squad age of 24.9, slightly higher than Sunderland’s current average squad age of 22.9.
But the Black Cats look set to up that number slightly this summer with some more experienced players certainly needed, and that in turn could make Wicky an ideal candidate.