Sunderland now have a manager in place after several months of waiting but Regis Le Bris may have to build a team without Anthony Patterson and Jack Clarke, according to the latest reports.
Le Bris was an outside-of-the-box appointment for the Black Cats. The Wearside club had exhausted quite a lengthy list of candidates to find Michael Beale’s successor in the Stadium of Light dugout four months after he was relieved of his duties. The likes of Will Still, former Derby County and Hull City boss Liam Rosenior, Queens Park Rangers manager Marti Cifuentes, and St Mirren head coach Stephen Robinson were all reportedly on Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ list but none took the job.
The 48-year-old was appointed on Saturday afternoon and comes to English football having never managed any other clubs than Lorient in Ligue 1 where he had merely a 30% win ratio in charge of the French club. Nevertheless, Lorient played some exciting football at times and it will be interesting to see how the new boss can implement his style at Sunderland.
Unfortunately, Le Bris may be forced to make do without two key players next season who will likely leave the club over the summer. Journalist Alan Nixon, via the Sunderland Echo, is reporting that newly-promoted Premier League side Southampton are hoping to secure the services of goalkeeper Patterson and last season’s top goalscorer Clarke.
It has been revealed over the past few months that Sunderland are willing to accept a £20 million fee for Clarke, while Nixon is claiming that the board are looking for up to £20 million for Patterson, although the Saints are currently nowhere near this valuation for the two players.
Writer’s View
Southampton earned promotion back to the Premier League by beating Leeds United at Wembley at the end of May. As a result, the club are set for a cash windfall of more than £150 million, primarily from TV revenue, for climbing back to the top-flight.
Additionally, this colossal cash injection means that the Saints will have a lot of money to spend this summer which is potentially why Sunderland are holding out for £40 million in total for Patterson and Clarke before the window closes at the end of August.
