Sunderland's rivals rocked by managerial uncertainty as Portsmouth starlet could join ex-Black Cats coach in League Two

Sunderland won their final pre-season game 2-1 against Hull City on Friday night.
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And there were have been some significant developments on Wearside over the past few days after a bout of gastroenteritis impacted the squad.

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MK Dons manager Russell Martin.MK Dons manager Russell Martin.
MK Dons manager Russell Martin.

Here, though, we take you through some of the more interesting stories that you’ve you may have missed today:

Sunderland League One rivals MK Dons have been rocked by the news of an approach for their manager Russell Martin.

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Reports by The Athletic today stated that Swansea City were hopeful of appointing Russell Martin as their new head coach.

However, Swansea will need to meet the compensation clause in his contract and agree on personal terms with the figure understood to be £400,000.

A club statement said: “MK Dons can confirm that an official approach has been made by Swansea City to speak to Russell Martin regarding their vacant managerial position.

“To our extreme disappointment, this was received less than 24 hours prior to our first competitive fixture of the season.

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“To minimise disruption to our players and our match preparation, it was decided that this would be discussed after today’s game.

“It was not our intention to release a statement until after discussions regarding the approach had taken place but given the intense media speculation, we felt it necessary to confirm the situation to both our players this morning and to our supporters before the game.

“The Club will make no further comment at this time while we focus on this afternoon’s fixture.”

Portsmouth player could link up with ex-Sunderland coach

Rochdale are interested in signing Portsmouth right-back Haji Mnoga on loan.

That’s according to a report from the Portsmouth News.

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Former Sunderland coach Robbie Stockdale has just arrived as manager at Rochdale.

Speaking recently, Mnoga admitted that he would open to leaving Portsmouth on loan this summer to more experience in professional football.

And it seems the 19-year-old full-back could be about to get the chance to do that in League Two with Stockdale next campaign.

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