Leeds United's Championship rivals hold 'serious interest' in manager who previously succeeded Liverpool boss Arne Slot

Sunderland’s lengthy search for a new manager looks to have taken them to the Netherlands with reports now linking them with ‘serious interest’ in Pascal Jansen.

The Black Cats have been without a permanent head coach since February, when they sacked Michael Beale after just two months in charge. Beale had succeeded Tony Mowbray in December but was swiftly removed as play-off chances dwindled, with those in charge at the Stadium of Light opting to keep Mike Dodds in interim charge until the end of the season.

Sunderland finished a disappointing 16th, having reached the play-offs in the prior campaign, and had long been planning to appoint a more permanent option early in the summer in a bid to return to play-off contention. But after seemingly missing out on first-choice Will Still, they have been left to look elsewhere and Alan Nixon reports that they now hold an interest in Jansen.

Jansen’s coaching career is still relatively young with the former Ajax academy prospect retiring from playing before even making his senior debut due to a knee injury. The 51-year-old’s first managerial job was at Jong PSV but he succeeded Arne Slot at AZ Alkmaar when the now-Liverpool manager took over at Feyenoord.

Jansen spent just over three years at AZ Alkmaar but was sacked in January, having almost lost a KNVB Cup match against amateur club Quick Boys. Nixon adds that a deal to appoint the London-born coach could rest on which staff he would be allowed to bring with him to the Academy of Light.

Sunderland’s interest in Jansen comes following a dramatic debacle involving Still, who has been widely regarded as the first-choice for those in charge of the Championship club. A deal was thought to have been all but agreed after Still left Reims, but the promising young coach reportedly U-turned on talks late in the day after being tempted to remain in France with Lens.

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The uncertainty could affect Sunderland’s summer plans significantly, with those in charge of recruitment not yet sure which manager they will be recruiting for. Leeds United and Daniel Farke know all too well how a chaotic summer can bleed into the early weeks of the season.

A number of Championship clubs have experienced that kind of uncertainty already this summer, with plenty of changes afoot across the board. Norwich City and Hull City have recently appointed new managers after falling short in their promotion hunts, while newly-relegated Burnley remain on the lookout for a new head coach after Vincent Kompany’s surprise move to Bayern Munich.

Leeds will likely face uncertainty over some star players but no such issues are expected to affect Farke, with chairman Paraag Marathe insisting those in charge of the club remain confident the German can achieve promotion next season, with a full summer of preparation behind him.

“Daniel has been fantastic," Marathe told the YEP recently. "I'm excited about working with him again this season. We set out to do this, we had a long-term plan, a long-term commitment, not just me to him but him to me. And you know we have a lot of work to do and we have to see our plan through. He has been tremendous, with a steady hand, the right temperament.

“If you think about the circumstances that he first came in, I can't remember exactly how many days we had between his official hiring and the first day of training, but it wasn't many and you saw that how our start to the season was with just so many ins and outs and different difficult, challenging player situations.

“And I thought he did a tremendous job. And so I'm excited about getting back at it with him as my partner and with our leadership team. I just think I really feel confident about the season particularly because we have at least a four or five week head start on what we had last year."