Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ ‘ideal’ next Sunderland manager has now been revealed, following the exit of Michael Beale.
Sunderland are without a permanent manager in place after the club sacked Beale this week.
Mike Dodds has been placed in interim charge of the club, and Dodds may have a chance to secure the permanent job if he can impress in the final un-in.
But all signals are pointing towards another managerial change in the summer, and once again, Will Still is being linked with Sunderland.
The 31-year-old Belgian-English coach took charge of Reims in October 2022 and has since overseen 56 games in charge of the Ligue 1 club, winning 23 to land himself a win record of 41.07% to date.
Sunderland desperate to land Will Still from Reims
Speaking exclusively to Sunderland AFC News, football expert Graeme Bailey gave the inside scoop on the Sunderland manager hunt, revealing that Still is in fact the man that Louis-Dreyfus wants to replace Beale.
Bailey said:
“They want the right man, but they know they can’t get him now, especially with Still. Still’s the one they want ideally, in an ideal world.”
He added:
“I do think they can get him.”
There’s also been reports that Sunderland would have to pay more than £4million in compensation to land Still, though Bailey believes those claims are wide of the mark.
“They wouldn’t want to pay £4million, I’m not sure it’s that high,” he said.
Will Still up for grabs
Still has already made his stance on a potential move to Sunderland clear, revealing that he would be keen on taking a Championship job in the future.
At the time of his previous links to the club, everything was a bit messy; fixtures were coming thick and fast and it was just before the January transfer window too.
But a summer appointment might now suit everyone; Sunderland, Still, and maybe Reims who’ll have time to find their replacement.
And Still, given his age and innovative ideas, his ability to speak French and English and also his overall ability to get results, is obviously appealing to Sunderland, who’ve scoured the French market for new players in the last two years.
Bailey’s comments now suggest that Still is the no.1 target for Sunderland in the summer and whilst compensation might not be as high as £4million, there’ll still likely be compensation required, so Sunderland need to be wary of that.
But Jack Clarke and maybe one or two others look set to move on and that should cover the cost of Still’s potential appointment.
This certainly looks like the kind of appointment Sunderland should be making; everything about his career so far and his ambitions, and everything that’s reported about his playing style and tactical nouse, could line up perfectly with this youthful Sunderland side and its trajectory.
If Sunderland can get Still in the summer and back him, it could have the club right back on track.