Portsmouth rivals place £4m price tag on head coach as shock Sunderland candidate emerges

Pompey are enjoying a few weeks of quiet ahead of what is set to be a busy summer transfer window, preparing for the Championship return.

For the first time since 2012, the Blues will be back in the second-tier competition and John Mousinho is currently viewing potential candidates that can aid the club in their ambitions for a highly competitive 2024/25 campaign.

However, if they were in any doubt as to how they could perform next season, the PO7 side have been handed some high praise by their former divisional rivals Peterborough United, with Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony saying: “What Portsmouth have got is a good manager, a good director of football. They’ve got a good set-up - Portsmouth will be absolutely fine in the Championship, I’ve got no qualms about that. I think they’ll be top 12.”

While Pompey sit confidently with Mousinho at the helm, here is the latest news from their soon-to-be rivals as they hunt for new head coaches...

Championship side place £4m price tag on head coach

Pompey’s 2024/25 Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion have told the newly promoted Leicester City that their head coach Carlos Corberan will cost between £3.5m and £4m in compensation, if the Foxes are wanting him to replace the Chelsea-bound Enzo Maresca.

According to The Telegraph, the Baggies will not be letting Corberan go easily but the Spaniard has been held in high regard for some time, with the currently manager-less Leicester hoping to bring him to the Premier League for the next campaign.

Corberan first headed to the EFL as Leeds United U21 boss, working as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s backroom team. He then impressed at Huddersfield Town before heading for a short stint at Olympiacos. He then moved to the Terriers in October 2022, replacing Steve Bruce and has since become a hugely popular figure in the community.

The Telegraph now reports that the Baggies will be commanding a fee of between around £4m which could well be a ‘deterrent’ amid the Foxes ongoing financial battles. He does, however, continue to be the primary candidate to replace Maresco.

Shock candidate emerges as Sunderland target

St Mirren head coach Stephen Robinson has emerged as a surprising new candidate to take on the vacancy at Sunderland, according to Alan Nixeon via Patreon.

Sunderland have been without a manager since parting ways with Michael Beale in February, after just 12 games in charge. While the Stadium of Light side had been exceptionally eager to bring in the former Reims manager Will Still, the Belgium-born coach is to reportedly snub the interest in favour of staying in Ligue 1 and joining RC Lens.

The ex-Young Boys manager Raphael Wicky was then one of the predominant names linked as well as the Bayern Munich U19 coach Rene Maric. However, recent reports indicate that the latter is set to be handed a promotion by new Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany

Amid the ongoing speculation, Scottish Premiership coach Robinson has now been thrown in the mix but the former player and Football League World pundit Carlton Palmer believes it would be a huge gamble, bringing the 49-year-old to the Wearside club.

“The Northern Irishman took the Buddies into Europe, and back-to-back top six finishes”, Palmer said on FLW. “But for me, I think this would be an unbelievable gamble. But the way that it's happening at the moment, Sunderland are running out of candidates to take the job, so they are going to have to take a gamble on somebody who's relatively new to management, and the Championship.”

Robinson first joined St Mirren in 2022, having managed Oldham Athletic, Motherwell and Morecambe. After 103 games in charge, the Buddies have won 35, losing 47. They finished the 2023/24 campaign in fifth place.