39-year-old Championship boss emerges as contender for Stoke City managerial vacancy | OneFootball

The hunt for Alex Neil's replacement as Stoke City head coach is set to move into its second week, and there are plenty of contenders that have already been spoken to.

Per John Percy of The Telegraph earlier in the week, initial talks were held with the likes of John Eustace, Paul Heckingbottom and Michael Beale - the latter who now looks set for the Sunderland job.

That news does suggest that despite City's lowly league position right now, the vacancy is very attractive after a real squad overhaul over the summer that Neil was just never able to get to grips with, hence why he was sacked last Sunday.

It is seemingly not just out of work managers that Stoke are looking into though, as they were also reported to be strong admirers of Blackburn Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson earlier in the week.

There has been a new name to add to the mix though, as according to a report from Alan Nixon of The Sun, Plymouth Argyle gaffer Steven Schumacher has now emerged on the radar of the Potters hierarchy in their search for Neil’s successor.

Schumacher is still relatively a novice in management, having only just passed the two-year anniversary of his first leading role, bur he has impressed at Home Park.

The former midfielder narrowly missed out on the League One play-offs in 2022 with the Pilgrims after taking over from Ryan Lowe, but he put things right last season and won the league with a mammoth 101 points.

The current campaign has been somewhat of a learning curve for the 39-year-old, who was backed with the permanent additions of Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker, and after 22 matches the Devon outfit sit in 16th position in the second tier standings.

Schumacher has come in for plaudits from many though for his work, and Nixon writes that Stoke 'may even try' to pursue his services despite being in their final round of interviews with other candidates.

He has managed 108 matches since stepping up to replace his former boss Lowe at Home Park, winning 60 of those - giving the Liverpool-born boss a win record of 55.55, and his attacking style of play could be what is needed at the Bet365 Stadium.

Schumacher may be keen on Stoke move due to location and finances

Even though league position right now suggests that Plymouth are a more attractive proposition than Stoke, there are a few reasons why Schumacher might be tempted to up sticks.

It's not like he hasn't been backed at Plymouth because he has, as they are a very ambitious club and showed that with some of their summer transfer dealings, but Stoke have a different level of money and they showed that over the summer.

The Coates Family backed Neil to oversee the great rebuild, and whilst it did not work out in the first few months of the campaign, a different face could get the best out of the current crop of talent in the Potteries - he'd also get a hefty wage rise too you'd imagine.

Then there is location - Schumacher could be settled in Devon now, but the allure of moving back up north and closer to his Liverpool roots - with Stoke being just an hour down the M6 - could be incredibly tempting too.

Schumacher has a good thing going with Plymouth, but it would be interesting to see if Stoke's apparent interest comes to fruition to see if he would be moved by it.