After Beale sacking, likely favourite for Sunderland job facing period of ‘turbulence’ at current club

Now that Micheal Beale has been sacked after 12 games in charge at Sunderland, the Black Cats will be needing a new manager.

With Mike Dodds now expected to finish the season in charge, one name that is likely to return to the fore in the coming weeks is Will Still.

The manager was reportedly one of the targets for Sunderland before Beale was appointed, and L’Equipe had a report over the weekend claiming that the Ligue 1 manager is now in a more difficult situation at Stade de Reims, with results not going in his favour and facing a period of ‘turbulence’.

One of the reasons for this was the sale of Azor Matusiwa to Rennes, which Still was against, but had to accept, and there is now a need to find a new balance without their star midfielder.

The manager spent three days with Brentford early last week in order to study for his UEFA Continental Pro Licence, and is expected to be a man in demand this summer.

Sunderland will be aware that he has a ‘release clause’ to leave Reims in the summer, ‘superior to €5m’, which the Black Cats might now be more prepared to spend after the failure of the ‘free’ appointment that was Beale.

Something to keep an eye on in the coming days, as Reims and their manager are struggling a bit more than usual, failing to win a game since mid-January.