Sunderland now face one of their leading manager targets to their Championship rivals.
Sunderland‘s search for a new manager has really dragged on, having spent over 100 days without a permanent head coach.
The Black Cats have been linked with a long list of names over the past few months, while they recently lost out on number one choice Will Still to Lens.
They were then linked with Pascal Jansen, with fans quickly warming to the idea of the former AZ Alkmaar coach.
However, it wasn’t long before reports claimed Sunderland were no longer interested in appointing Jansen.
Liam Rosenior then became the name on everyone’s lips, having been sacked by Hull City last month.
The 39-year-old had held talks with the Black Cats and was set for further discussions this week, ahead of the club’s apparent ‘imminent’ appointment.
Liam Rosenior is set for talks with Championship rivals
However, their pursuit of Rosenior may not be as straight forward as hoped, with another club keeping an eye on him.
According to The Athletic, Burnley see Rosenior as a candidate to take over from Vincent Kompany.
The former defender is joined by Frank Lampard and Scott Parker on their radar, with preliminary interviews due to begin this week.
Are Sunderland about to miss out on another target?
It’s unclear how far Sunderland are in their pursuit of Rosenior, but if they let him slip by – just like a number of managers already – then he could quite easily jump at the chance of moving to Turf Moor.
He narrowly missed out on the play-offs with Hull, but joining the Clarets could guarantee him a huge chance at winning automatic promotion and managing in the Premier League.
The Black Cats will likely struggle to compete with Burnley and really need to get a deal wrapped up quickly if they aren’t to miss out on yet another target.
However, Rosenior still isn’t guaranteed to be Burnley’s first choice. Both Lampard and Parker already have experience in the top flight, while the latter has won promotion twice in the last four years.
The former Tigers manager has made it clear he is happy to wait for the right offer to come around, having attracted interest since leaving the MKM Stadium.
If he still has options elsewhere, then he won’t be afraid to make Sunderland wait for his decision.