Will Still claim emerges amid Sunderland managerial links | OneFootball

On the whole, the 2023/24 campaign proved to be a mightily disappointing one for Sunderland.

Having finished inside the top six in their first season back in the Championship last campaign, the hope was that the club could build on that this season, but it has not been the case.

Instead, the club have been through multiple managers, finishing the campaign with an interim boss in charge and in a measly 16th place in the division.

It certainly looks as though it is going to be a busy and important summer for the club, with the first thing on their list of 'to do's' being to appoint a new permanent boss.

Will Still would be a coup for Sunderland

One name that has been linked with the vacancy is former Reims manager Will Still, who departed the Ligue 1 side just days ago.

This has only served to ramp up speculation that he could be set to become the new Black Cats boss.

This is certainly something that TalkSPORT duo Andy Brassell and Danny Kelly believe could happen, with the pair suggesting that Still has been house hunting in the North East and could become the club's next boss.

Kelly also went on to quiz Brassell on whether or not this was, or would be, a coup for Sunderland, to which his TalkSPORT colleague replied, via Sunderland Echo: "If he comes, it absolutely will be [a coup]."

"They [Reims] have ended this season on a bit of a downer. He is someone who is an incredible motivator in two languages we’ve seen.

“He is someone who has been working very hard on creating job opportunities for himself in the Premier League or the Championship over the last couple of months, making frequent dashes back to London as well.

“He has done very well at Reims on a limited budget and until the last couple of weeks, they were in the mix for European football.”

Still could be a good fit for the Black Cats

Given what Still has achieved in his short career so far, it would be hard to see his appointment at Sunderland as anything other than a coup.

The young head coach has gained quite a reputation for himself in a very short time with his exploits in Belgium and France, and he could also be an ideal fit for Sunderland.

The club have prioritised signing young, up and coming talent in recent seasons and hiring Still would almost feel like an extension of that policy into their managerial hiring process.

Furthermore, being a young head coach, he is more likely to be willing to fit within the club's philosophy of signing young talent, as opposed to wanting to bring in more established stars and an extensive number of staff.

Previously, it has been suggested that this is something Sunderland want in their next boss when they were linked with Paul Heckingbottom.

With the Championship season now over, it will certainly be interesting to see how quickly the Black Cats make an appointment, and indeed if it turns out to be Will Still.