Sunderland are now approaching the four-month mark without a manager in place.
Sunderland are still without a manager after sacking Michael Beale in February, and the Black Cats appear to be no closer to finding his successor.
It seems that owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was banking on hiring long-term target Will Still who left previous club Reims at the start of May.
But Louis-Dreyfus has now been dealt a devasting blow after Still apparently pulled out of a deal to become the next Sunderland manager, with a move to RC Lens now looking nailed on.
Rene Maric remains one of the few names known to be of interest to Sunderland, and to still be available, whilst St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is a new name in the frame.
It’s claimed that Louis-Dreyfus could now make a move for Robinson at St Mirren, who finished 5th in the Scottish Premiership last season.
But Sunderland could face another compensation hurdle if they want to hire Robinson this summer.
Sunderland likely face compensation hurdle to hire St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson
Robinson, 49, is best known for his work with current club St Mirren, who will be playing in the Europa Conference League next season.
In the 2022/23 season, Robinson guided St Mirren to a 6th place finish in the Scottish top flight; their best finish since 1985, then improving on that in the 2023/24 campaign.
That 2022/23 finish earned Robinson a new St Mirren contract, extended until 2026 after the Buddies brought him in from Morecambe in 2022.
Reports at the time revealed that St Mirren had paid a £100,000 compensation fee for Robinson and that he also became the highest-paid manager in the club’s history.
Now under a new and extended contract, likely to be an improved one in terms of pay, Robinson could be an expensive potential appointment for Sunderland, who’ve already shown their unwillingness to pay out for managers.
Sunderland deterred by Will Still compensation at Reims
Still was originally linked with Sunderland at the end of 2023 after the Black Cats sacked Tony Mowbray.
Still met with Sunderland officials but a deal never materialised, reportedly because Louis-Dreyfus was unwilling to pay out what was more than £4million in compensation for the 31-year-old.
Whether or not Robinson’s compensation at St Mirren is as high as that remains to be seen. But given the fact that St Mirren initially paid £100,000 for him, then extending his deal after a strong league finish, it may be safe to assume that the compensation is now much higher than £100,000.
But it may also be safe to assume that Robinson’s compensation is nowhere near what Still’s was at Reims, and that it may still fall below the £1million mark given what is likely to be tighter finances at St Mirren as opposed to Ligue 1 club Reims.
It’s purely speculative at this moment in time as the compensation fee needed to prise Robinson from St Mirren has not been made public.
But if Sunderland are serious about Robinson then Louis-Dreyfus may have to bite the bullet and cough up the compensation fee, as fans are becoming incredibly fearful about the summer and season ahead with no manager in place as of yet.