Sunderland have identified Kim Hellberg as one of their targets to become Tony Mowbray’s successor at the Stadium of Light. Earlier this week, the Black Cats showed the exit door to Mowbray and they’ve been working on bringing in a new coach.
Two days ago, Aftonbladet said the 35-year-old was set to hold a meeting with the English club on Thursday. As well as Sunderland, he’s been linked to IFK Norrköping and Hammarby IF.
That’s according to Fotbolltransfers, who explain that Hellberg ‘has left’ IFK Värnamo after two successful seasons and is now ‘sought after’ in the market.
Like Sunderland, the report states Norrköping are also currently without a manager after Glen Riddersholm left them at the end of the Swedish football season.
The 27-year-old knows Hellberg well from his time at Norrköping, where the latter was the assistant manager between 2020 and 2021. The midfielder said he would understand if his former coach were to pick Sunderland over other clubs.
“I hope that IFK does everything they can to try to get hold of him. He would have been absolutely perfect for Norrköping. Then I understand if he takes Sunderland instead. But the decision is Kim’s, he himself knows what is best for him,” he told Norrköpings Tidningar, relayed by Fotbolltransfers.
On Hellberg’s qualities, Levi explained: “Kim is the coach who has taught me the most at senior level. When you’re young, of course you learn technical stuff, but that’s something else entirely.
“When it comes to after my elite career started, there is no one who has developed me more than Kim has done. He is incredibly good when it comes to how to position yourself, how to drive the ball, which shoulder to drive the ball towards in relation to the defenders, how to move in the box and how to get a four against three situation to be a three-on-two situation.”
