Will Still to Sunderland latest: Reims identify replacement, Pundit issues Black Cats concern | OneFootball

Sunderland’s inconsistent season continued on Saturday, as they lost 1-0 to Millwall at the Stadium of Light.

It has been a largely frustrating campaign for the Black Cats, as it was expected they would compete in and around the play-offs.

While that was how the season did start, it soon changed as Tony Mowbray was dismissed and replaced by Michael Beale, who struggled to even get going at the club.

Beale wasn’t in the hotseat for long before he was dismissed, and Mike Dodds was put back in temporary charge until the end of the season.

However, under Dodds, it hasn’t got much better for Sunderland, as they sit in mid-table with nothing left to play for, and it seems that come the start of the new season, the club will have a new manager in place.

There has been lots of talk about who that person could be, with Reims’ Will Still being a name that has consistently appeared. So, with that said, here we have looked at the latest news involving Still and Sunderland…

Will Still Sunderland update

Reims manager Will Still is someone who has been mentioned with the Stadium of Light for some time now.

The 31-year-old was first mentioned back in December, when Tony Mowbray was sacked from Sunderland.

It was reported at the time that the club held talks with Still about the possibility of him taking over at the football club.

However, a deal didn’t materialise for whatever reason, and the club went down the route of Mick Beale.

Still has continued his fine work with French side Reims, where he has risen to fame, despite his lack of experience in top-level management.

Sunderland are once again looking for a new manager, and Still could well be an option for the club once again, with them potentially receiving a boost in their chances.

According to French outlet Le 10 Sport, Reims is on the lookout for replacements for the 31-year-old.

Reims will not want to see Will Still leave their club this summer, but with him just having over 12 months left on his contract, they may not be able to do much if offers come in.

Therefore, this could leave the door open for a team like Sunderland to come in and try and prize him away from Ligue 1.

So, with that said, Reims are keeping their options open, and according to L’Union via Sport Witness, they have identified former Newcastle United player Habib Beye as a target and are said to be keen on him.

Beye is currently manager of Red Star in the Championnat National, which is France’s third division.

This is a boost to Sunderland, as it could leave the door open for them to make a move and try to secure Still’s signature. The club would obviously have to agree to compensation with Reims, but sporting director Kristjaan Speakman recently said that the club would be willing to pay a compensation fee in order to get the manager they want.

Former England midfielder Carlton Palmer is full of praise for the work Will Still has done at Reims and believes he is an excellent coach and would be a good appointment for Sunderland.

Palmer told Football League World: “It’s rumoured that Reims are lining up a replacement for manager Will Still.

“It’s been well documented for months that Sunderland have been interested in bringing in Will to the football club. He’s an outstanding young manager.

“Obviously he’s under contract at Reims, and Reims are doing really well, and [Sunderland] weren’t able to get him out.

“Sunderland didn’t replace Mick Beale when they sacked him, and they’re hoping to get to the end of the season to bring Will in.”

However, Palmer also believes there could be a stumbling block to this deal, and that is that Sunderland don’t want to change any of the backroom staff and are focused on signing young players instead of more senior ones.

Factors that have affected both Tony Mowbray and Mick Beale this season, and Palmer believes this may have to change if Still comes to the club.

Palmer continued: “The issue will be, the reports that are coming out that Mick Beale was only able to bring one of his backroom staff into the football club, and also the fact that they do not want to sign senior players, which was an issue with Tony Mowbray.

“He wanted to balance the youth with senior players, the hierarchy at Sunderland want to work on the basis of bringing young players in.

“Their model is signing young players from lower leagues for low money, bring them in and establish them and then move them on for big money.

“That’s difficult for a manager, when a manager is ambitious and wants the club to be successful. Tony Mowbray believed that, if they allowed him to do that, he would’ve gotten the club promoted.

“They just fell short against Luton Town in the play-off last season. So it will be interesting to see.

“I’m sure if Still goes to Sunderland, he’ll want to bring his own backroom staff, and he’ll want to be able to manage the way he wants to manage and dictate.

“As much as Sunderland would like to bring him in, if they do, they will have to change their philosophy on how they'll want to go forward.”