Sunderland have endured a crazy 24 hours in their hunt for a new manager, with Will Still now all but out of the race to take charge.
Sunderland look out of the race for Will Still this summer, following six months of links with the 31-year-old former Reims boss.
Still now looks poised to take charge of Ligue 1 club RC Lens, after he reportedly agreed to become the next Sunderland manager, pulling out at the last minute due to worries about the lack of investment and the ‘make-up of the staff’, according to Keith Downie.
Still now looks set to join a growing list of names who’ve been linked with the Sunderland job, but who’ve fallen out of contention.
Other names on said list are Danny Rohl, Bo Svensson, and more recently Raphael Wicky, who Fabrizio Romano says is not someone under consideration this summer.
And that might leave Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus with one final hope in their hunt for a new manager; Rene Maric.
Rene Maric to Sunderland latest
Bayern Munich’s U19s boss Maric was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this year, before reports later played down the links.
But recently, Maric’s links to the Stadium of Light have been reignited; it was said that Still and Maric were two of several names under consideration.
Bayern Munich and new boss Vincent Kompany want Maric to work as an assistant coach with the first-team but Maric is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.
And now the fact that Still is all but out of the running to become the next Sunderland manager may leave Maric as one of a few candidates left, if not the front-runner.
Will Rene Maric become the next Sunderland manager
Maric now seems to have been on Sunderland’s radar for some time, and the fact that he’s yet to sign a new deal at Bayern may suggest he’s keeping his options open.
He’s also one of a few names left now and whilst Still certainly looked like Sunderland’s no.1 choice, they may have to settle with Maric.
But Maric may well fit the bill just as much as Still; he’s got that elite coaching background having worked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern, and he’s very well-regarded in the coaching world too.
Maric has even written a book on the tactical insights of football, which has received positive reviews from coaches around the world.
So there’s definitely reason to believe that Maric could the the next Rohl-type manager to hit the Championship.
For Sunderland though, the delay in hiring someone is becoming far too long; they need a manager in now so that they can properly start out on their summer transfer plans.
And the longer it goes on, the more chance that they’ll continue to miss out on preferred candidates.