"110%" - Pundit can see Will Still leaving Reims for Sunderland | OneFootball

Sunderland have shortlisted Reims manager Will Still for the vacant job at the Stadium of Light, according to Teamtalk.

The Belgian/English manager made headlines worldwide last season for guiding Reims away from the relegation zone all whilst the club were being fined £22,000 a game that Still took charge of due to him not having his UEFA Pro Licence.

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The 31-year-old remained with Reims on a permanent basis and has made a great start to the 2023/24 campaign, with the club currently in fifth place in the Ligue 1 table, just three points off the top four.

Still would be a real coup for the Black Cats for a number of reasons. He's a young, talented manager, has experience of working with young players, and can speak both French and English. This will come in handy for Sunderland, who have four French players on their books.

However, it remains to be seen whether Kristjaan Speakman and the Sunderland hierarchy would be able to tempt Still to leave a club batting for European football in France's top-tier to join a club in England's second division.

"110% if given the opportunity" - Palmer on Will Still joining Sunderland

Ex-England international Palmer shared his thoughts on Sunderland's interest in Will Still and discussed whether the Reims manager would leave a top European league to join a Championship club.

He told FLW: "Another name that's been mentioned for the vacant manager's role at Sunderland is Will Still, the current manager of Reims, who are in fifth place in the race for Champions League football.

"Would he leave Reims to manage Sunderland? 110% if he was given the opportunity.

"This would be an exciting appointment. He's young, likes working with young players and developing them, which fits into Sunderland's criteria. "His parents are English, and he was born in Belgium. For such a young man, he's already experienced different roles in the game - from analyst to scout, to assistant manager, to manager. "He has a clear identity of how he wants to play, 4-2-3-1, playing with a hard press and having the holding midfield players sitting deep, allowing for more bodies in the middle of the park.

"This is a perfect fit for Sunderland and I expect one to have legs."

Sunderland league position

The Black Cats are ninth in the league, but just three points away from the Championship play-off places. A big appointment like Will Still could ensure they move up the table in the near future.

It's not been a dreadful season by any means for the Black Cats, but a relatively poor run by their recent standards has seen them lose ground on the top six contenders, which meant Tony Mowbray got the sack.