A Sunderland managing candidate is scheduled to be interviewed for a Championship position this week.
Sunderland is still without a manager three months after Michael Beale was fired after just 12 games in charge.
Names continue to be linked to the Stadium of Light job, but some of them are also being considered by other clubs.
Hull City recently fired Liam Rosenior, and conjecture quickly linked him to the Sunderland job.
Plymouth Argyle then made an offer to sign Rosenior, but the 39-year-old, who is a favourite of Sunderland manager Kevin Phillips, declined.
Plymouth will now make another bid to bring in a Sunderland-linked manager this week: Paul Heckingbottom.
Plymouth Argyle plans to interview Paul Heckingbottom.
Heckingbottom, 46, was let go by Sheffield United in December after leading the Blades to promotion from the Championship in 2023.
Earlier this year, he was revealed to be Sunderland’s top target, but reports soon after claimed that Heckingbottom had dropped out of contention.
He could now turn down a job offer from Sunderland to join Plymouth Argyle, according to John Percy, who says Heckingbottom will be interviewed by the south coast club this week.
Percy stated on X that Plymouth Argyle is close to appointing a new head coach. Paul Heckingbottom is due to be interviewed this week and is one of six candidates being considered.
“Argyle keen to appoint a new manager with experience of the leagues.”
Plymouth Argyle is yearning for something that Sunderland is not.
Both Sunderland and Plymouth require a manager this summer. However, both appear to be looking to hire distinct types of managers.
While Percy claims Plymouth want an experienced manager, there have been various indications that Sunderland prefer someone considerably younger in the game.
Sunderland appear to be willing to take a chance on a Will Still or Danny Rohl-type player in the goal of improving their first-team roster, which is currently quite young.
Plymouth, on the other hand, ended 21st in the Championship standings, just five points behind Sunderland in 16th, and they want someone like Heckingbottom who has seen the rigours of the second division.
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, on the other hand, may be better off recruiting a mix of the two types here; someone like Rohl, who is still young but has some second-tier experience, albeit limited.
Heckingbottom may still be in the race for the Sunderland job, but Louis-Dreyfus may need to move quickly if he wants to beat Plymouth to the position.
And if the Black Cats do not act quickly, this could be the first of numerous managers they lose this summer.
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