Sunderland have been warned that it would be ‘very, very difficult’ for them to appoint one manager target.
It has been four days since Kyril Louis-Dreyfus issued a statement that claimed Sunderland were looking to appoint a new head coach ‘imminently’.
The club don’t seem to be much closer to that appointment though, with Liam Rosenior yet to hold further talks after an initial round of discussions last week.
Pascal Jansen was withdrawn from the shortlist over the weekend, while Marti Cifuentes was the latest name to emerge as a favourite.
While Rosenior seems to be remaining as the number one choice, Cifuentes is thought to be fancied by Sunderland, while many fans are encouraged by his potential arrival.
The Spaniard joined QPR in October and rescued them from relegation, confirming their Championship status in April.
Sunderland would be forced to pay a six-figure compensation fee if they were to lure Cifuentes in, while pundit Carlton Palmer has admitted that he ‘can’t believe’ the 41-year-old would even want to move to Wearside.
Carlton Palmer ‘can’t see’ Marti Cifuentes joining Sunderland
Speaking to Football League World, Palmer said: “I can’t see this happening. First of all, compensation will have to be paid.
“I can’t see Sunderland paying compensation, I can’t see QPR allowing Cifuentes to leave the football club, and I can’t believe that Cifuentes would want to leave the football club given what he achieved last season in keeping QPR in the league last season.
“QPR will want to keep him, obviously there is a problem financially in terms of players, and what he’s allowed to bring in.
“But like I’ve said before, the Sunderland job appears to be a difficult situation for anybody to step into.
“From what is coming out of the football club, is that you’re not allowed to bring into your coaching staff, you’re allowed to bring in one person and then you’ve got to work within the realms of how they want to run the football club.
“This is their choice, their policy, of bringing in young players in, not really signing senior players and the control that’s taken away from the manager.
“As I’ve said, it’s going to be a very, very difficult appointment because any manager that is worth his salt, unless you’re really desperate to get back into work, you’re only set up to fail under the regime that Sunderland have set up.
“This is disappointing for the supporters, disappointing so close to the season you’d obviously want to have a manager in place to start getting to work in the transfer market for the upcoming season.
“But, as I said, that’s not the case and I’d be very, very surprised if Cifuentes is the next Sunderland manager.”
Why would he leave QPR for Wearside?
Marti Cifuentes is certainly a very exciting prospect for Sunderland’s managerial vacancy, but it would be a huge surprise if that interest progressed any further than a brief consideration.
The 41-year-old completely transformed QPR last season and they will be desperate to keep hold of him.
Cifuentes, who has spent his career in cities such as Stockholm and Barcelona, will surely be eager to stay in the English capital rather than travelling north to Wearside.
If he can steer them away from a relegation scrap, then QPR could well be a more attractive proposition for potential arrivals too.
Not to mention that the two clubs actually finished on the same points, so from Cifuente’s point of view, it may not be a step up at all.