Sunderland U21s boss Graeme Murty is on Oxford United's shortlist to fill their vacant managerial position. That's according to the Northern Echo who say the Black Cats would be unlikely to stand in Murty's way if he expressed an interest in taking over the League One strugglers.
The current Head of Professional Development Phase only took up his role on Wearside in October, after Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor stepped up to the first-team coaching staff. Murty has previously managed Scottish giants Rangers on an interim basis but had some time out of the game before turning up on Wearside.
Oxford United parted company with long-serving manager Karl Robinson at the weekend with his side 17th in League One. A club statement read: “The board would like to thank Karl for his hard work and efforts in the five years since he joined but recent results and performances mean that a change is needed.”
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Oxford are yet to make a formal approach to Sunderland according to the report, and it remains unclear whether Murty has any long-term ambition to manage senior football.
The young Black Cats have shown an improvement under Murty as the season has worn on, with the academy set-up on Wearside becoming closely aligned with Tony Mowbray's first-team. The Sunderland head coach has given plenty of minutes to players in need of minutes.
Premier League 2 Divison 2 has seen Edouard Michut, Jewison Bennette and most recently, Isaac Lihadji given game time as they look to adapt to English football.
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