Sheffield United will have to offer Slavisa Jokanovic an eye-watering £4 million-a-year contract if they want to lure the former Fulham and Watford boss back to the Championship, as reported by The Sun (4 April, page 61).
If the Blades are hoping to ‘do a Norwich’ and bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking next term, is there a better man than Jokanovic to fill a Chris Wilder-shaped void on the Bramall Lane touchline?
The gruff-voiced gaffer made light work of the Championship during fine spells at Craven Cottage and Vicarage Road.
It was Jokanovic who led Fulham to victory over Aston Villa at the 2018 play-off final, three years after guiding Watford to automatic promotion.
And, according to The Star, the 52-year-old is interested in taking over at a Sheffield United side nailed to the bottom of the Premier League, 15 points adrift of safety with eight games remaining.
But Jokanovic won’t come cheap.
The straight-talking Serb is currently contracted to Qatari outfit Al-Gharafa, earning £2.5 million a year after tax in the Middle East. The Sun believes Sheffield United would have to match that figure (amounting to about £4 million a year or £75,000 a week) to lure Jokanovic to the Steel City.
Interestingly, no player in Sheffield United’s squad earns more than that.
Swansea City’s former England U17 coach Steve Cooper and Oxford boss Karl Robinson have been linked with the Sheffield United job too.
But if the Blades want a manager who all but guarantees promotion, Jokanovic may be worth every single penny of that admittedly eye-watering contract.
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