Sunderland’s chances of appointing a 51-year-old manager could now look very positive.
Sunderland have now been waiting over a month for a manager to be appointed since the Championship season came to an end.
The Black Cats have been heavily linked with managers from across Europe, with the Will Still saga continuing to drag on since before Christmas.
Names such as Danny Rohl, Bo Svensson and Rene Maric have all been thrown about, but they gradually seem to be checked off unavailable.
The most recent manager that has been mentioned to take over on Wearside is Pascal Jansen, who has been out of work since he was sacked by AZ Alkmaar in January.
The 51-year-old has attracted interest from a host of clubs previously, including Ajax, Burnley, Everton and Norwich City.
Jansen remains unemployed after leaving the Netherlands though, and is said to be of ‘serious interest’ to the Black Cats.
Jansen is said to be still intriguing other clubs too though, with Greek giants Panathinaikos also on his trail.
Pascal Jansen wants England switch
However, Sunderland could be handed a boost in their bid to appoint the London-born coach.
According to FCUpdate, Jansen ‘has never made of secret’ of wanting to return in England, while it could be a ‘dream come true’ for him if he gets the job at the Stadium of Light.
The manager owns dual Dutch and British citizenship after being born in the English capital to an English pop singer mother and Dutch musician father.
Jansen spent his brief playing career in the Netherlands though, before spending coaching career over there with the likes of PSV and AZ too.
He is yet to manage in England though and, despite being linked with several Premier League and Championship jobs, is yet to be appointed.
Sunderland could be set for a huge coup
Sunderland are rapidly running out of options and, while Jansen’s name has appeared fairly late in their search, he could well be one of their best targets.
He has worked with and learned from some excellent coaches such as Arne Slot, Erik ten Hag and Frank De Boer, while he enjoyed a particularly impressive spell at AZ.
The 51-year-old earned them third, fifth and fourth place finishes, which saw him competing in European competition every season.
In his first full season at the Dutch club, he won the Eredivisie play-offs and reached the KNVB Cup semi-finals. They then reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League in the 2022-23 season, before they were narrowly knocked out by West Ham.
If the report is right in saying that Jansen really wants to work in England, then Sunderland have no excuse not to quickly wrap up a deal for the out-of-work manager.