Sunderland are reportedly interested in appointing an "incredible" former Premier League manager, as they search for Michael Beale's long-term successor at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland manager latest
Beale was sacked by the Black Cats on Monday, despite only taking charge of 12 matches after arriving back in December, with the job he was doing not deemed good enough by the board. Sunderland were beaten 2-1 away to Birmingham City last weekend, which proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back, especially after the Englishman seemingly ignored a handshake with Trai Hume as he left the field.
The hunt is now on for the Championship side to find a new long-term manager, with Mike Dodds named as interim boss until the end of the season.
A move for Will Still could be possible, with the 31-year-old having a release clause at Reims that means he may leave this summer, but another name has also been thrown into the hat.
Sunderland eyeing Steve Cooper
According to a report from TEAMtalk, Sunderland are eyeing a move for Steve Cooper, with the Welshman sacked by Nottingham Forest earlier in the season.
"Steve Cooper is also out of work after leaving Nottingham Forest. He missed out on the Crystal Palace job despite links, as they have appointed Austrian coach Oliver Glasner to take over from the departing Roy Hodgson.
"Cooper will likely be keen to re-gain his Premier League status and wait for the correct opportunity, but a club the size of Sunderland holds a lot of potential that sources say could be of interest to Cooper."
England Under-16s
2014-2015
England Under-17s
2015-2019
Swansea City
2019-2021
Nottingham Forest
2021-2023
Cooper could be a brilliant high-profile appointment if Sunderland manage to pull it off, considering he has only recently been in the Premier League, doing a superb job with Forest for much of the time. Sam Allardyce was certainly impressed with what he saw, saying of the 44-year-old recently:
"Steve is one of the only managers to say he has too many players. Dealing with that can distract your focus. You want to keep them all involved and use them if you can and see what they’ve got, but ultimately, it’s a very tough decision. Steve has done an incredible job dealing with these issues as well as getting good results."
Cooper, who shares the same agency as Trai Hume, Anthony Patterson and Patrick Roberts, has genuine pedigree that would make him such an eye-catching arrival at the Stadium of Light, not least because he won the Under-17s World Cup with England back in 2017, in a side that featured the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho.
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