Sunderland should complete £10m Sheffield Wednesday raid to give faltering project direction: View | OneFootball

Sunderland may have had a difficult campaign, but they remain one of the most interesting projects in the EFL going into this summer, but the Black Cats are in desperate need of filling the managerial role to get matters back on track ahead of 2024/25.

Danny Röhl of Sheffield Wednesday has been linked with the vacancy, as Sunderland have been without a permanent manager since the sacking of Michael Beale in February. Their interest in Röhl was first revealed by iNews in March, and recent reports from The Northern Echo state that the club are closely monitoring his situation as he holds talks with Dejphon Chansiri over his long-term future in South Yorkshire.

Danny Röhl compensation update

Now, the latest reports from The Sheffield Star have revealed that suggestions are that a compensation fee will be required to pry the 35-year-old away from Wednesday, which is set somewhere in the close region of an "eye-watering £5 million". They also outline that a fee of close to double that will be required to "take his close-knit coaching staff along with him".

Of course, recruitment is one area to consider, but the club don't need wholesale changes on that front, with just a few clever additions likely to take this young group up a level. However, the main elephant in the room is the club's next managerial appointment.

Such a figure for a manager - even one as talented as Röhl - is likely to put off most clubs from acquiring his services, especially from Championship sides without parachute payments, who seldom pay such amounts for players, let alone managers.

Danny Röhl is the ideal Sunderland candidate

A swift appointment would allow for an easier summer, with whoever comes in able to assess the playing squad and hit the ground running, whereas dragging things out could see the Black Cats fall behind their Championship peers in preparation for next season.

The players need stability, but perhaps a younger coach is preferable, despite the risks that surround an inexperienced manager. That's, in part, due to marrying up the youngest squad in the second tier with a youthful manager like Röhl and the natural excitement and intrigue that surrounds a project such as that. A young core across the team and coaches but a few extra senior heads, could see the Black Cats jump from mid-table into an automatic promotion race fairly easily.

Their progress may have stalled this year after their sixth-placed finish in 2023, but Röhl is an extremely exciting manager, who made Wednesday an extremely impressive pressing side out of possession, with a fairly older group of players. Sunderland have plenty of exuberant and exciting talent that could easily take to his style of player far quicker, and offer more in possession.

The stability at the club has to be a draw for Röhl over difficult circumstances behind the scenes with Wednesday, and it wouldn't take a lot for Sunderland to turn things around and get firmly back on track. The 35-year-old would almost certainly have more freedom in terms of operating in the market, and a bigger budget to spend as well than whatever Chansiri is able to offer him.

As for Sunderland, they have opted for the younger approach to squad building, perhaps to the extreme, where they could look to sign one or two older and Championship-ready pros this summer. Their recruitment so far in the last few transfer windows has continued to reflect the policy of signing pre-peak and youth players, which Sunderland have implemented over the last couple of seasons, and has had far more hits than misses thus far.

They will require additions again, especially as key players are likely to be the subject of plenty of speculation, but Röhl could be their biggest asset and where the majority of the funds should go when they raise them from player sales.

Kristjaan Speakman, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and co nailed the recruitment side of things with Sunderland in season one and continued to build in the summer, albeit they ended up taking a step back in season two, but their biggest test now is to bring in the perfect head coach to lead this young group forward and get the club moving forwards once again after the project's recent stagnation.

2023/24 has been a bump in the road, but the club are only a few correct decisions away from challenging at the right end of the table once more, and that starts with a big investment in Röhl. It could make a huge difference.