Sunderland is deep in discussions with Michael Beale, and it’s almost certain that the 43-year-old from London will become their new head coach. Talks have progressed significantly, with Beale likely to observe Saturday’s Championship match at Bristol City from the stands. While Mike Dodds will stay in charge for today, Beale is expected to take over in time for next Saturday’s home game against Coventry. His fifth game in charge will be the Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle at the Stadium of Light during next month’s FA Cup third round.
Beale has emerged as the top choice from a lengthy list of candidates to fill the vacancy left by Mowbray’s unexpected dismissal. Initially, Will Still, the 31-year-old manager from Reims, was thought to be the preferred candidate of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the owner of Sunderland. However, complications arose over compensation to Still’s Ligue 1 club, leading to a deadlock.
Impressing Steven Gerrard during his time as an academy coach at Liverpool, Beale worked as Gerrard’s first-team coach at Rangers and later joined him at Aston Villa. While he briefly managed QPR in 2022, he returned to Rangers as head coach after leaving west London. Beale’s stint at Rangers ended in October this year due to a lackluster start to the current season following a second-place finish in the previous Scottish Premiership campaign.
Beale has a long coaching history since retiring from playing at 21, which included experiences in futsal in Brazil and coaching at Chelsea and Liverpool academies.
Taking charge of a young and creative, albeit inexperienced, Sunderland side currently sitting in sixth place in the second tier, Beale, much like the admired Mowbray, prefers an attractive style of attacking football focused on fluid passing and movement. Mowbray, who was reportedly interviewed for Stoke’s managerial vacancy this week, guided Sunderland to the playoff semi-finals last season.
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