Sunderland are set for final crunch talks with a key manager target Liam Rosenior.
Sunderland appear to be in the final stages of their manager hunt now, following more than three months since the Black Cats sacked Michael Beale.
The past week has seen names drop out of contention; long-term target Will Still has been appointed RC Lens manager, whilst Pascal Jansen has dropped out of contention completely.
That appears to have left former Hull City boss Liam Rosenior as the front-runner for the vacant Sunderland job.
The 39-year-old was sacked by Hull City at the end of last season despite a 7th place finish in the Championship, with Tigers owner Acun Ilicali citing the playing style as the main reason behind his departure.
Rosenior is said to have held talks with Sunderland officials over the job after previously speaking with Birmingham City.
And now, Alan Nixon has provided a key update on the situation.
Liam Rosenior set for Sunderland talks with two key items on the agenda
Nixon has revealed on Patreon that Rosenior ‘is set for a second round of talks with Sunderland’ after he spoke with Sunderland officials on Thursday.
Nixon adds that Rosenior ‘was an initial target when the season ended but was keen to listen to other offers’, but that the Stadium of Light job is now ‘the best available to him’.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Nixon says that Rosenior and Sunderland ‘will get down to the crucial details’; the budget and the staffing.
It was reportedly concerns over the budget and the make up of the staff that forced Still to pull out of the Sunderland running.
The final fear that Sunderland face in hiring Liam Rosenior as manager
Rosenior now appears to be the clear front-runner. There appears to be no other names in the frame, so if a move for Rosenior falls through, Sunderland and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will be right back at square one.
It feels like Louis-Dreyfus has to get Rosenior over the line now. But Still pulling out of the job due to budgeting and staffing worries will certainly make this final hurdle a difficult one to navigate.
Rosenior may know what to expect from the Sunderland owners in terms of transfers. But if he can’t bring in some of his own staff then he may not want to come on board.
Beale arrived with no staff and that arguably played a factor behind his demise at the club, so Rosenior may want a minimum of one or maybe two staff members to come in with him.
But Rosenior, to get this far into discussions, clearly seems keen on the job, and it may be that he becomes the next Sunderland manager in the next few days, providing these final talks go smoothly.