Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has named the manager who he thinks Kyril Louis-Dreyfus should hire this summer.
Sunderland continue to be linked with a number of managers after sacking Michael Beale back in February, almost three months ago to the day.
Names come in and out of contention every week it seems, with Will Still, Danny Rohl, Rene Maric, Paul Heckingbottom, and Bo Svensson the names touted of late.
Some seem further ahead in the running, though; Still looks like a frontrunner, if not the frontrunner, whilst the likes of Rohl and Maric seem to be falling out of contention.
And other names may come into the reckoning over the next few weeks as clubs chop and change their managers, as we saw with Liam Rosenior at Hull City.
He was sacked earlier in May despite guiding the Tigers to a 7th place finish in the 2023/24 Championship campaign, with speculation then growing online that he could be a good fit for Sunderland.
Elsewhere, Southampton boss Russell Martin is another Championship manager potentially facing the axe if his Saints side don’t earn promotion this season, and like with Rosenior, he too could come into the reckoning if Sunderland still haven’t hired their next manager.
Kevin Phillips tips Liam Rosenior to be a good fit for Sunderland
Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, former Sunderland striker Phillips has given his verdict on who the next Sunderland manager should be.
And Phillips believes the 39-year-old Rosenior could be a good fit the Stadium of Light job, saying: “I played golf up in the north-east during the weekend with a big Sunderland fan, and he mentioned, which I think got sacked harshly, Liam Rosenior.
“They [Hull City] finished three points outside the play-offs, when he took over they were a point outside the relegation zone.
“He’s a fantastic coach. He worked well with [Wayne] Rooney at Derby, did a great job their, and he’s stepped up to management.
“He’s young. And when this guy mentioned him, I thought, ‘I quite like that one’.”
Why Sunderland might think twice about Liam Rosenior
Rosenior’s stock is certainly high despite his recent Hull City sacking, having already rejected a swift return to the Championship with Plymouth Argyle.
His USP is his playing style. It’s widely regarded to be an attractive one, and one of the more so in the Championship, with Hull very much a possession-based side and a very technical one too.
Rosenior’s Hull was also a very attractive place for Premier League clubs to send youngsters, likely for the playing style, with the Tigers welcoming in players from Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool last season.
So that’s another advantage of hiring Rosenior. But there’s a section of Hull City fans on social media who think Rosenior’s exit was somewhat timely.
Hull spent almost £12million on transfers last season. That, as well as their loan signings gave Hull City a squad capable of finishing inside the play-offs, and although Hull only narrowly missed out, many think they still underachieved.
Even so, if Rosenior was to come in at Sunderland, he likely wouldn’t be given the same budget, and Premier League clubs may not be so quick to send younger players to the Stadium of Light as it’s a team already brimming with young players, so there may be reservations about how much game time their loanees would get.
On paper, it’s an appointment that makes sense. But it certainly seems like Sunderland fancy a Still-type appointment this summer.