It’s a funny old game at times, football. He could have replaced Mick Beale at Rangers in late-2023, and that very same manager may now end up succeeding the former Ibrox boss at Sunderland instead less than 12 months on.
If you’re one of those who believes we may be living in some sort of uber-complex simulation, this is a story which reinforces the feeling that our fate has been mapped out before us with algorithms and coding.
Pascal Jansen, according to reports, was high on Rangers wishlist after they lost patience with Mick Beale in October.
“That Rangers talk caught me by surprise,” Jansen would tell Sky Sports at the time, while still under contract at Eredivisie outfit AZ Alkmaar. “It flatters me, of course, because Rangers are a massive club and I have dreams and ambitions.”
The Glasgow giants would, of course, opt for Philippe Clement instead. Jansen, meanwhile, ended the 2-2023/24 unemployed, let go by AZ following a disappointing European campaign.
One-time Rangers target could now join Sunderland
Now, The Sun’s Alan Nixon reports via his Patreon page that Jansen’s return to management could coincide with the end of Sunderland’s long and drawn out search for a new head coach.
It is four months since they had one; none other than Beale given the boot in February following a disastrous 12-game spell in which he made few friends and influenced even fewer.
Sunderland, Nixon says, have trimmed down their managerial search to three stand-out candidates. The London-born Jansen is one, alongside St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson and Dave Challinor, fresh from guiding Stockport County to the League Two title ahead of the Hollywood-backed Wrexham.
Jansen may not have ticked every box on Rangers’ hitlist – Clement, after all, brought with him a proven track record when it comes to winning league titles – but he feels like a good fit at Sunderland.
Sunderland still need a new manager
The Black Cats, i News reported after the departure of Tony Mowbray before Christmas, are targeting forward-thinking, modern coaches with a penchant for working alongside the sort of technically gifted young players Sunderland have tended to prioritise in the transfer market.
That goes some way to explaining their interest, at the time, in a 31-year-old Will Still and fellow managerial whizzkid Francesco Farioli.
Rangers reportedly held talks with Farioli following the departure of Giovanni Van Bronckhorst in 2022. After turning Nice into one of the most well-drilled sides in Europe’s major leagues, the fresh-faced Italian with his VO5 haircut has been tasked with dragging Ajax back to the summit of Dutch football.
For Jansen, meanwhile, the Sunderland job is likely to hold plenty of appeal. And not just because, after being overlooked by Ajax himself, it is now around six months since he was last in a dugout.
Beale may have been nothing short of a disaster – winning only four games at the Stadium of Light – but this is a Sunderland side brimming with youthful promise, a massive fanbase and the sort of pulling power which should dwarf many other teams in England’s second tier.
Jansen, should he get the gig, could find himself going up against another former Rangers target in 2024/25.
Jose Cordoba, a month after visiting Ibrox and holding advanced talks with The Gers, completed his £3 million move from Levski Sofia to play-off semi-finalists Norwich City this week.
