A former Championship manager has now been linked with the Sunderland manager job.
The search for the next Sunderland manager appears to be ramping up as we approach four months since the Black Cats sacked Michael Beale.
Long-term target Will Still appears to be closing in on the RC Lens job despite previously agreeing to take charge at the Stadium of Light.
There’s a new name in contention though, and he seems to be much more favourable among Sunderland supporters than Still; Pascal Jansen.
The former AZ Alkmaar boss is under serious consideration by Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, but Jansen also has interest from Greek outfit Panathinaikos.
Elsewhere, Alan Nixon recently claimed that Stockport County boss Dave Challinor and St Mirren’s Stephen Robinson were two of three final candidates, alongside Jansen, for the Sunderland job.
Challinor and Robinson have now been ruled out, but another name is now wanted at Sunderland.
Liam Rosenior officially linked with Sunderland job
Hull City sacked Liam Rosenior last month, despite the 39-year-old guiding the Tigers to an impressive 7th place finish in the 2023/24 Championship season.
Soon after, Sunderland fans had their say on Rosenior, offering mixed verdicts on the former full-back potentially replacing Beale this summer.
Former Black Cats striker Kevin Phillips then stated his support for Rosenior becoming the next Sunderland manager, but there had been no actual link between the two.
Now though, journalist Michael Graham has revealed on X that Rosenior is a name ‘under consideration’, reiterating the fact that Challinor and Robinson are not.
Recent reports have revealed that Rosenior had spoken to Birmingham City, who’ve since hired Chris Davies, though Rosenior was thought to be biding his time amid interest from the Championship.
Is Liam Rosenior a front-runner to become the next Sunderland manager
Before, Rosenior was a purely speculative name in the running to become the next Sunderland manager, but now we have an actual link.
And the link makes sense; Rosenior is a young coach with a cotemporary style of play, and many will argue that he was harshly treated by Hull City.
Hull though was a very different job to Sunderland; Hull is a team with some big name players on big money, with the Tigers likely to spend again this summer.
Whilst Sunderland often spend their share of money in the transfer market, it’s much more of a youth-focussed team, and whether or not that suits Rosenior’s skillset remains to be seen.
Jansen appears to be a better fit; when AZ boss, he stated that he’s content working with a young team that often sells their best players, potentially making him the perfect fit for Sunderland.
Right now though, it certainly seems like Jansen and Rosenior are two of the leading names to become the next Sunderland manager.