Sunderland are without a manager after sacking Tony Mowbray earlier this week, with reports of potential replacements having quickly heated up.
Sunderland look like they could make a fairly swift appointment with reports linking a number of managers to the Stadium of Light vacancy.
The usual suspects are being mentioned, but it appears that Sunderland will look to appoint a younger, more contemporary coach using analytics, to match the club’s transfer philosophy.
Who’s in the running to be the next Sunderland manager?
Several names have so far been linked with the Sunderland job, including Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna.
Elsewhere, Reims boss Will Still is said to be under consideration, along with former Cardiff City, Leeds United, and Middlesbrough centre-back Sol Bamba as a somewhat surprise candidate.
And one name doing a few rounds on social media, as a speculative but perhaps shrewd appointment for the Black Cats, is Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher.
Who is Steven Schumacher?
The 39-year-old enjoyed a 16-year playing career, best known for spells with the likes of Bradford City and Bury.
Schumacher quickly went into coaching and was no.2 to Ryan Lowe at both Bury and Plymouth Argyle, later replacing Lowe at Plymouth and guiding the Green Army to the League One title last season.
Since, his side have been competitive in the Championship, beating Stoke City 2-1 in their last outing and beating Sunderland 2-0 at the end of last month.
Plymouth currently sit in 16th place of the table.
Why would he be a good fit for Sunderland?
It seems like Sunderland’s managerial search is based around a few things; a younger coach with contemporary ideas, someone who plays an attacking, expansive, and likely a possession-based game, and someone who is content with being the head coach and having little-to-no say in transfers.
Schumacher is still very fresh in the game. His Plymouth side last season earned high praise for their dynamic and modern style of play which ultimately blew away the competition in League One, and despite a difficult financial situation, his side are competitive in the Championship.
The fact that Premier League clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, and Wolves have sent players on loan there, Aston Villa for a second season running, shows how highly Premier League clubs think of Schumacher’s style.
And that facet is also something that Sunderland might find attractive with Schumacher; his football produces players of a certain style which Premier League clubs obviously favour, and that makes said players attractive to top flight clubs, meaning that they then become valuable assets.
Sunderland will know that as a Championship club, they need to remain a selling club, and a manager like Schumacher who somewhat readies players for Premier League football could help Sunderland to further increase the value of their star assets.
Whether or not Schumacher would be content with being a head coach though, and likely having little say in transfers, remains to be seen.
It’s now known how much input he has at Plymouth, but he certainly has a god thing going there.
What’s more is that it might be easier for Sunderland to tempt someone like Schumacher than McKenna, given Ipswich’s promotion bid this season, and with Plymouth not expected to challenge for the top six any time soon.
The Sunderland job is a massive one and it’s a club with huge ambitions and plenty of reward, with Premier League football potentially available next season should they earn another unexpected spot in the top six.
Expect there to be plenty of interest in the job and whilst a foreign appointment appears likely, Schumacher has already proven that he can compete in English football and in the Championship, and at a club like Sunderland with plenty of backing, he could really shine.