Tony Mowbray is expected at the Academy of Light this morning to finalise his appointment as Sunderland's new head coach. As ChronicleLive revealed yesterday evening, Mowbray has agreed in principle to take the reins and fill the vacancy left by Alex Neil's departure to Stoke City.
The deal still needs to be signed but, with Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, his lawyer and Black Cats board member Igor Levin, and sporting director Kristjaan Speakman all at last night's U21 game at Eppleton, the key personnel are on Wearside to complete the appointment. Assuming the final talks are concluded quickly, there is a chance Mowbray could take training today and his appointment will be confirmed ahead of tomorrow's game against Rotherham United at the Stadium of Light.
Former Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, and Celtic boss Mowbray quickly emerged as favourite to succeed Neil over the weekend, after the latter decided on Friday to take over at Stoke - a move that was eventually confirmed on Sunday evening. While Sunderland are understood to have also considered other candidates including Chelsea first team coach Anthony Barry and MK Don's Liam Manning, they made their move for Mowbray and talks progressed rapidly with the 58-year-old.
