Former Preston boss Alex Neil is now in ‘advanced talks’ to become the new Sunderland boss after Roy Keane dropped out of the race.
That’s according to Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie, who claims that Neil is now the favourite to take the Sunderland job.
Roy Keane had been leading the way having been targeted for a return to Sunderland more than 13 years since leaving.
However, Keane has pulled out of the race today, leaving Sunderland to go for alternative targets.
Neil is at the top of the list, with former Hull City boss Grant McCann also on the radar for Sunderland.
The Black Cats sacked Lee Johnson in January and are now hoping to get an appointment tied up before the weekend.
Neil is now the top choice for the job, potentially making his return to management having been sacked by Preston in March.
Ironically, Neil was appointed as Preston boss in 2017 because Sunderland had raided North End for Simon Grayson.
Neil enjoyed almost four years in charge of Preston, but poor results to start 2021 ultimately resulted in Neil’s departure from Deepdale.
Most Preston fans still think highly of Neil and appreciate the work he did at North End, operating under difficult circumstances.
Key players were regularly sold and not properly replaced, seeing Preston slip from outside the playoff places in Neil’s first season to the bottom half when he left.
Neil is a proven Championship manager so this seems like a major coup for Sunderland if they can pull it off, with the Scot a much better choice than Keane in our eyes.