Sunderland could hire Le Bris upgrade who Pep thinks is “one of the best”

Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris has had his future thrown into doubt in recent weeks after some disappointing performances from his team.

Despite successive wins against Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur either side of the last international break, the Black Cats cannot be pleased with their recent form.

Le Bris’ side have lost four of their last six games in all competitions, including a game against League One Port Vale in the FA Cup, and have conceded nine goals in their last two outings in the Premier League.

The French head coach watched his side ship four goals to Aston Villa and five goals to Nottingham Forest, and must address those defensive issues in the final four games of the season.

If he cannot end the campaign on a high note, there could be some serious conversations to be had behind the scenes at the Stadium of Light in the summer.

What’s been said about Regis Le Bris’ future at Sunderland

Speaking about the Frenchman’s future last week, journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that Sunderland currently want to stick with their manager.

The reporter said: “We had some rumours of Le Bris maybe losing his job at Sunderland if he doesn’t qualify for European football, my understanding is that Sunderland want to continue with Le Bris.

“Not based on what’s going to happen for this Premier League season, just focusing on the possibility to continue with Le Bris, so at the moment that’s the feeling.”

Whilst the Black Cats appear to be content with the job that Le Bris is doing for now, it has also been reported that the club are sounding out possible options for the job if they do decide to part ways with him.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is preparing for all eventualities and is reportedly looking at a manager who could arrive at the Stadium of Light as a big upgrade on the current head coach.

The Sunderland target who would be a Regis Le Bris upgrade

It was recently reported that the Black Cats have sounded out former Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur tactician Thomas Frank as a possible successor to Le Bris in the dugout on Wearside.

The Danish head coach has been without a job since he was sacked by Spurs in February, but his struggles with the Lilywhites should not be too harshly judged, given that Ange Postecoglou and Igor Tudor also struggled either side of his time there.

Instead, Frank should be judged on his achievements with Brentford in the Premier League, as he made them an established top-flight club before his move to North London.

He took over at the club from Dean Smith when they were a midtable team in the second tier and transformed them into a competitive side in the top division.

After winning the Championship play-offs with the Bees in the 2020/21 campaign, the Dane kept the club in the Premier League for four successive seasons, only finishing lower than 13th once.

His team also scored 56 goals or more in three of those seasons, which is one reason why he may be an attractive target for Sunderland, because they have struggled for goals under Le Bris.

Only Burnley and Wolves, who are 19th and 20th in the table, have scored fewer goals than Sunderland (36) in the Premier League so far this season.

This is a concern ahead of the 2026/27 campaign if the defence looks as porous as it has in recent weeks, with nine goals conceded in the last two games, because the Black Cats could find themselves slipping down the table by not scoring enough and conceding too many.

Frank, though, has proven that he can coach a Premier League team to score goals at an impressive rate whilst achieving respectable finishes, hence why Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola described him as “one of the best” managers around.

The move to Spurs, with the benefit of hindsight, was the wrong move at the wrong time, but Sunderland could benefit that by taking advantage of his current unemployment to make him an upgrade on Le Bris, should they decide to change their manager this summer.

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