Grant McCann, Alex Neil, Enzo Maresca, Sabri Lamouchi: The leading names to become Sunderland's next manager as Roy Keane talks break down

The club have held talks with multiple candidates over the last two weeks and were hopeful of making an appointment before Saturday’s trip to AFC Wimbledon.

Keane was understood to be the preferred candidate on Wearside, yet a deal couldn’t be reached.

Here are some of the leading names who remain in contention.

Grant McCann

The 41-year-old is out of work after leaving Hull last month.

McCann led the Tigers to the League One title last season but was sacked, with the side sitting 19th in the Championship, following the arrival of new owners at the MKM Stadium.

Before taking charge of Hull, McCann also had spells at Peterborough and Doncaster in League One.

Alex Neil

After impressing as a manager at Scottish side Hamilton, Neil was given the chance to take on a Championship promotion bid with Norwich City in 2015.

The Scot, 40, went on an impressive run with the Canaries to guide them into the play-offs, where they beat Middlesbrough in the final.

Following relegation from the Premier League, Norwich parted company with Neil in March 2017.

He went on to spend over three years at Preston, before leaving Deepdale in March 2021, with his best finish coming in the 2017/18 season when The Lilywhites finished seventh in the Championship.

Sabri Lamouchi

Following spells managing the Ivory Coast national team and French club Rennes, Lamouchi took the Nottingham Forest job at the start of the 2019/20 season.

The Frenchman appeared to be turning things around at the City Ground as Forest made a strong push for the play-offs, yet they imploded spectacularly to miss out on a top-six place.

Lamouchi was sacked after a poor start to the following campaign and had a brief spell managing Qatari side Al-Duhail, before stepping down last year.

Neil Lennon

The former midfielder has experience managing at a high level following his time at Celtic, where he won three SPL championships and two Scottish cups during his first stint in charge.

The 50-year-old has managed in England at Bolton Wanderers, though the club’s off-field issues overshadowed his tenure in the North West.

Lennon’s second spell at Celtic didn’t end well, though, as he departed last year with the club 18 points behind rivals Rangers in the SPL title race.

Jody Morris

A highly-rated coach who is yet to manage at senior level.

Morris, 43, has coached at England youth level and in Chelsea’s academy, before he was made Frank Lampard’s assistant at Derby in 2018.

Following Lampard’s appointment at Chelsea the following season, Morris returned to Stamford Bridge as the club’s first-team assistant.

Morris left the club along with Lampard in January 2021.

Enzo Maresca

Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus said the club had received applications from all over the world.

Italian coach Maresca is someone Sunderland are said to have spoken to about the vacant role.

The 41-year-old has been an assistant at Italian side Ascoli, Sevilla and West Ham, before spending a year in charge of Manchester City’s Under-23 side during the 2020/21 season.

He has since managed Italian club Parma but was dismissed in November 2021.

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