The Reims bosses are ‘irritated’ with Wil Still after the highly-rated Ligue 1 manager held talks with Championship outfit Sunderland in London.
At 31, Will Still is the youngest manager in Europe’s top five leagues.
And perhaps a bit of inexperience shone through when holding discussions over a move to England, Sunderland making contact via his agent and inviting Still for talks in London.
That is certainly how Still’s current employers see it. According to RMC Sport, Stade de Reims are ‘irritated’ with their baby-faced head coach. That is to be expected. Reims took a chance on Still when hiring him back in October 2022, and may feel that the least he could do is to stick around until the summer at the earliest.
Sunderland hold Will Still talks
RMC add that Reims, who are only two points off the European places in Ligue 1, are already putting plans in place for Still’s eventual departure but would prefer that he gives them sufficient time to find a replacement.
At the start of December, Still laughed off reports that he could take over at crisis-club Lyon. The fact that he made the effort to meet the Sunderland bosses in London, however, seems to suggest that he would at least consider taking over from Tony Mowbray at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats looking for a young, hungry, forward-thinking head coach capable of guiding a young, hungry, forward-thinking squad.
“I really hope, given his work, his performance and given his human qualities, that he will remain the coach of the Stade de Reims,” president Jean-Pierre Caillot said when Still was linked with an emotional move to his boyhood club West Ham a few months back.
“That is how things should go. I think he is fine with us. He has the club’s confidence, including financially.
“In any case, I sincerely hope (that he stays).”
Reims boss has done an ‘incredible’ job
Still, who’s work across the Channel has been labelled ‘incredible’ by Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe, is under contract until 2025 at Reims.
Sunderland have also held talks with Kim Hellberg but he looks likely to join Hammarby instead.
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