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BO SVENSSON has the newest candidate for the vacant Sunderland head coaching position, and the chances of luring Danny Rohl to the Stadium of Light are dwindling, especially in recent days.
Svensson, a 44-year-old former Denmark international, is said to be one of the bosses still under scrutiny as Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus contemplate who will succeed Mike Dodds next season.
After starting his coaching career in the Austrian second division department with FC Liefering, a subsidiary club of Red Bull Salzburg, Svensson was appointed head coach of Bundesliga side Mainz in January 2021.
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He inherited a struggle in the relegation zone but led Mainz to safety in the second half of the season before presiding over successive first halves in his two full seasons in charge.
He resigned by mutual consent last November, after Mainz had a poor start to the season and has been out of work ever since. German media have reported in the past that he is willing to move to England and work in the league, and it would appear that there has been contact between the Dane and the more sensible brass at Sunderland.
At this point, however, Speakman and Louis-Dreyfus are still eyeing their former Reims coach Will Still and Bayern Munich U19 coach René Maric also on their shortlist.
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Rohl rose to prominence when he guided Sheffield Wednesday to protection in the second half of this season, and Sunderland’s hierarchy is known to have been inspired by the 35-year-old’s work at Hillsborough.
Firstly, it looked like Rohl might leave the Owls this summer as he wondered if the club’s ambition matched his own. On Wednesday, however, they are desperate to remain their German coach, and last week’s constructive discussions made that much more likely. Rohl is likely to remain in his current position next season.
Rohl spoke with president Dejphon Chansiri last week before departing for an end-of-season vacation.
To further complicate the issues from Sunderland’s point of view, it emerged that Rohl’s existing contract means he would collect around £5m in pay to praise the Hillsborough Owls boss. That number would be double if Rohl’s close-knit training went with him.