According to The Chronicle, Sunderland are set to appoint Lee Johnson as their new head coach to work under the new sporting director Kristjaan Speakman.
The 39-year-old has been unemployed since being sacked by Bristol City on July 4th, following four successive defeats.
The Chronicle state that the Black Cats have the likes of Gus Poyet, Danny Cowley and Paul Cook on their shortlist. However, it is Johnson who they want to appoint.
Despite his sacking at Ashton Gate, the Newmarket-born tactician enjoyed some memorable moments against some of the biggest clubs, and best managerial minds, in the game.
Johnson guided his Bristol City side to a 2-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United back in December 2017.
The Red Devils’ XI on the day even included the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial.
In an interview with BBC Sport (via FourFourTwo), Johnson admitted he has been inspired by the Portuguese coach.
He said: ‘It’d be nice to get on as well as I can with him, get chatting to him and trying to pick his brain.
‘Jose’s right up there – I’ve read all his books, I’ve watched any session that’s possible to watch, I’ve studied his interviews.’
Johnson nearly got one over on another of the best managers around in Pep Guardiola, just a month after defeating Mourinho.
In the semi-final of the League Cup, Bristol City suffered two narrow defeats – they lost 2-1 at the Etihad, before losing 3-2 at Ashton Gate.
The Robins’ performance promoted Guardiola to praise the Championship side and Johnson, stating that they performed better than some Premier League outfits do at the Etihad.
The Independent quote him as saying: ‘Guardiola said to me that we played better than most of the Premier League teams that come to Man City’.
Hopefully, he can somewhat mirror the two managerial greats on Wearside.
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