Sunderland are reportedly in advanced talks to hire Regis Le Bris as their next manager.
After more than four months without a manager, it looks as though Sunderland may be closing in on hiring their next manager.
Emerging reports on Friday revealed that Sunderland are in advanced talks to hire Lorient boss Regis Le Bris, amid reports that he’s set to leave the French Ligue 1 club.
Le Bris, 48, spent two seasons with Lorient, with the 2023/24 season ending in their relegation from the French top flight.
He previously spent eight years working as a youth coach with Stade Rennais, with the Lorient job being his first as a manager.
Other names remain in contention; QPR manager Marti Cifuentes is still being linked, though Alan Nixon has suggested that the Black Cats have now moved on.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich U19s boss Rene Maric is yet to put pen-to-paper on a new contract with the German giants, with new boss Vincent Kompany wanting Maric to join his first-team coaching staff.
Bayern Munich set to land Middlesbrough coach Aaron Danks
Kompany now looks set to bolster his coaching staff with Middlesbrough first-team coach Aaron Danks.
Danks has been linked with a move to Bayern for several weeks now and German football journalist Philipp Kessler says that Danks is now ‘moving’ from Middlesbrough to Bayern this summer.
How this might impact on Maric’s future at the club, or what it might suggest about his situation, remains to be seen.
Maric is thought to have an offer on the table to step up into the Bayern first-team and coach alongside Kompany.
But Maric appears to be biding his time and waiting to see what other opportunities might crop up.
Could Rene Maric beat Regis Le Bris to Sunderland manager job
Le Bris certainly seems to be the front-runner now. But this latest Danks update at Bayern Munich may suggest that Maric is still in the running to become next Sunderland manager.
He’s been a fairly favourable appointment among Sunderland fans for some time, given his elite coaching background and Bayern’s apparent eagerness to keep him at the club.
Whether or not Kompany wants more coaches to join his staff this summer remains to be seen; there may still be a place for Maric on his team, though Danks arriving may lean towards Bayern and Kompany moving on from Maric.
Either way, it looks like Le Bris is the front-runner now. If Maric remains keen on the Sunderland job, he must state his conviction.
Sunderland, after four months of arduous searching and rumours, appear to be closing in on hiring their next manager.