Sunderland had another hectic 24 hours in their managerial hunt on Thursday. Sunderland has now been without a manager for 100 days, and comments on the situation have become increasingly heated. Will Still has been the major focus of attention; given his long-term ties with Sunderland, the 31-year-old appears to be set to take over as manager of French Ligue 1 team RC Lens. Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus will have to rapidly shift his focus elsewhere, with new names appearing on his radar. Rene Maric, the manager of Bayern Munich’s U19s, appears to be back in contention, while Swiss coach Raphael Wicky has emerged as a fresh contender.
He is out of work after departing Swiss club BSC Young Boys in March, despite leading the squad to both the Swiss Cup and the Swiss league title in the 2022/23 season. On Thursday, reports circulated that Wicky had agreed to a two-year contract to become Sunderland’s new head coach. Fabrizio Romano discusses Sunderland’s new manager According to reports in Italy, Wicky has agreed to a two-year contract with Sunderland, with the option to extend. Soon after, Romano weighed in, downplaying the report. He wrote on X: “Despite recent reports, Sunderland will not appoint Raphael Wicky as new manager.” “No contacts, no negotiations, and he is not on the shortlist for the #SAFC position. The club is looking into several candidates to hire a new head coach.”
Romano is still a trusted name in the sector, thus it appears that Sunderland have not agreed to a deal for Wicky, despite recent allegations. Who will be the next Sunderland manager? With Still set for Lens and Bo Svensson and Danny Rohl not on the move this summer, it looks that Wicky and Maric are the front-runners for the job. Both appear to be fascinating prospective appointments, with Wicky clearly having more experience. He was a Swiss international throughout his playing career, earning 75 caps for his country and serving as manager of FC Basel, Chicago Fire, and Young Boys.
Maric is much less experienced, but he could be the more intriguing potential choice; he is well regarded in Germany and appears to be a very comparable potential appointment to Rohl on Wednesday. He’s on a similar career path, and the fact that Bayern Munich is desperate to maintain and promote him reveals everything we need to know about his abilities. Time is running out for Sunderland to find their new manager and move forward with their transfer plans, and fans are growing increasingly concerned.
