Sunderland still ‘admire’ one coach who was previously linked with the job.
The search for the next Sunderland manager appears to have become rather messy, with names in and out of contention seemingly every day.
Owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is coming under increasing scrutiny for his side’s inability to find a successor to Michael Beale, who was sacked in February.
And what was once quite a long list of names to replace Beale at the Stadium of Light has now become a fairly short one.
Will Still remains in contention but he’s had interest from Norwich City and Ligue 1 side Lens recently.
Elsewhere, former Swiss international player and Young Boys boss Raphael Wicky is thought to be a new name under consideration.
But Sky Sports now say that someone who was linked with the job previously, but then thought to be out of the running, is back in contention.
Rene Maric still ‘admired’ by Sunderland
An emerging claim from Sky Sports says that Still and Rene Maric are two of ‘several’ names under consideration to become the next Sunderland manager.
Maric, 31, currently works as the Bayern Munich U19s boss, with the German giants keen to keep him at the club ahead of his contract expiry in June.
The latest on that front suggests that Maric is expected to pen a new contract with Bayern and become an assistant coach to Vincent Kompany.
But reporter Keith Downie has revealed on Sky Sports News that Maric is ‘thought to be admired’ by the Sunderland hierarchy.
It was claimed earlier in May that Maric was not a strong contender for the Sunderland job this summer.
Sunderland face battle to appoint Rene Maric
There were strong reports beforehand that Bayern Munich wanted to keep Maric at the club, and now the opportunity to become an assistant to Kompany in a new-look project could be appealing.
But so too might the chance to become next Sunderland manager; the Black Cats remain a team brimming with young talent and plenty of valuable assets, with plenty of managers cutting their teeth, and successfully so, in the Championship.
It seems like Maric is certainly biding his time and weighing up his options with these Sunderland links only serving to strengthen his stock right now.
Downie’s above revelation tells us that Maric may have been under strong consideration all along, but that the link may have been kept under wraps somewhat.
Either way, Sunderland certainly need to make a decision soon, with fans becoming increasingly restless.