A manager mentioned alongside the Sunderland job has spoken to a League One club, but he’s ‘biding his time’ amid Championship interest.
Sunderland remain on the lookout for their next manager. But it seems like we may be nearing the conclusion with reports linking names to the Stadium of Light heating up.
Will Still remains a name in contention; he reportedly agreed to become the next Sunderland manager before turning his attention to RC Lens, but the 31-year-old now appears to be torn between the two.
Elsewhere, former AZ Alkmaar manager Pascal Jansen is said to be a name under serious consideration by Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman are certainly coming under growing pressure to hire a replacement for Michael Beale who was sacked more than three months ago now.
The pair are biding their time, and it seems like plenty of managerial candidates are doing the same, with plenty of jobs opening and closing during this time of year.
One such name is Liam Rosenior.
Liam Rosenior ‘biding his time’ after Birmingham City talks
Rosenior was sacked by Hull City following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season, despite guiding the Tigers to a 7th place finish in the Championship.
He immediately came into the bookies’ lists for the Sunderland job, with Black Cats fans having mixed feelings about the former full-back potentially taking charge.
Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips though thinks the 39-year-old would be a great fit for the Black Cats this summer.
But Rosenior is ‘biding his time’, says journalist Alex Dicken on X, who’s revealed that Rosenior has spoken to managerless Birmingham City ‘more than once’.
Dicken adds that Rosenior ‘has Championship suitors’. Former Sunderland manager Alex Neil is also in the running for the Blues job.
Should Sunderland plot late swoop for Liam Rosenior
Above all other current candidates, Rosenior brings experience to the table, and a certain playing style that the owners and fans may enjoy.
He’s widely regarded as a manger who emphasises contemporary, passing and possession-based football, although Hull City fans often criticised his unwillingness to change tactics, and his stubbornness in team selection.
So in one sense, Rosenior may be a safe bet. In another, he may be a quite underwhelming appointment. But a safe bet doesn’t appear to be what Louis-Dreyfus wants at Sunderland with this next appointment.
It seems clear that he’s ready to roll the dice and take a punt on a Still or a Jansen, and with no official link between Sunderland and Rosenior, it may be that he’s not in the running, and never has been.
Dicken’s comment about Championship interest is certainly interesting, though; the only Championship clubs without a manager right now are Burnley and Sunderland.
But if the Black Cats were really interested in Rosenior, they may have hired him already, so Rosenior may be biding his time over the Burnley job if anything.