Sunderland have been tipped to reignite their interest in a previous managerial target in the summer.
Sunderland spent over two weeks searching for the perfect replacement for Tony Mowbray last month and were heavily linked with a number of exciting, young managers from abroad.
When it was reported that the Black Cats were set to land former QPR and Rangers coach Michael Beale, fans were left frustrated and the board came under a lot of criticism.
Michael Beale is yet to prove the doubters wrong either, having lost four of his seven games in charge so far – leaving Sunderland tenth in the Championship table.
There has been plenty of calls for Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to already sack Beale and bring Mike Dodds back in until the end of the season, but it is unclear who they could appoint as a permanent successor.
One name who appeared to be Sunderland’s main target in December was Will Still, who currently manages sixth-place Reims in Ligue 1 and has a 46% win rate with the French outfit.
The ‘incredible’ 31-year-old blew up across Europe when he joined Reims and went on a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, despite not even holding a UEFA Pro Licence at the time.
It was reported last week that Sunderland really wanted Will Still, but couldn’t afford his compensation.
However, journalist Michael Graham has now tipped the Black Cats to go back in for the Belgian in the summer.
On X, he wrote: “Said it before, but if Beale goes I think it’ll be Dodds until the end of the season. Then suspect back in for Will Still in the summer.”
He then followed it up with: “The clause that sets the high compensation fee for Will Still expires at the end of this season. Will be significantly cheaper to appoint in the summer.”
Can Sunderland still land Will Still?
Will Still is undeniably the manager that everyone wanted to see at the Stadium of Light when the links first began, while Michael Beale was incredibly underwhelming in comparison.
If he is going to cost significantly less in summer, then it would surely be crazy if we didn’t go back in for him.
The only issue would be is that it already feels like we are a less attractive club than we were before Beale came in.
We could end up finishing the campaign in mid-table or even the bottom half, while we are likely to part ways with a number of key players at the end of the season too.
It also wouldn’t be surprising if Still had plenty more options to consider by then too – especially given that he could potentially guide Reims to Champions League football.
We made a huge mistake in not coughing up the cash to bring him in last month and could now pay the price by seeing someone else snap him up in six months time, while we search for a second choice.