Sunderland are now down to three manager candidates, with a surprise new inclusion.
Sunderland look set to miss out on long-term manager target Will Still, with a move to Ligue 1 side RC Lens now looking inevitable.
Lens parted ways with Franck Haise on Thursday morning with reports immediately after claiming that Still and Lens are now in advanced negotiations.
The Black Cats have now been without a manager for more than three months after previous boss Michael Beale was sacked in February.
There’s a new name in contention though; former AZ Alkmaar boss Pascal Jansen is said to be under serious consideration at the Stadium of Light.
Elsewhere, St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson is also liked by Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, with Jansen and Robinson being two of three candidates for the job.
Sunderland add Stockport County manager Dave Challinor to shortlist
An emerging update from Alan Nixon on Patreon has revealed that Sunderland ‘are down to a final three for their manager’s vacancy’.
Jansen and Robinson are among those three; Robison though would cost £250,000 in compensation after signing a new St Mirren deal last year.
Nixon has also revealed that Stockport County boss Dave Challinor ‘has jumped into the frame’ following his success with the Hatters.
Former Stockport, Tranmere Rovers, and Bury defender Challinor, 48, guided Stockport County to promotion from the National League in 2022 and then promotion from League Two last season.
He previously got Hartlepool United out of the National League in 2021, boasting an impressive 53.4% win rate in 721 games as a manager.
Sunderland could make wildcard appointment with next manager
It looks like one of Jansen, Robinson, and Challinor will be made the next Sunderland manager, and neither of the three were known to be interest to Louis-Dreyfus a week ago.
The picture has dramatically changed and although some candidates may be more preferred than others, all three have good previous records.
Jansen at AZ and Robinson at St Mirren, whom he’s just guided to their best league finishes in 40 years.
Challinor meanwhile has worked wonders at Stockport; guiding a team out of the National League and then League Two, in such a short space of time, is a real achievement.
Though whether he or Robinson have the credentials to manage in the Championship and potentially take a team out of it remains to be seen.
Jansen has that more elite coaching background but he’s never won a promotion as a manager, so Challinor certainly has an edge over his two rivals for the Sunderland job.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see which one of these three becomes the next Sunderland manager.