Football is a weird old game sometimes. In late 2023, he had the opportunity to succeed Mick Beale at Rangers. Now, less than a year later, that same manager might succeed the former Ibrox boss at Sunderland.
This anecdote bolsters the idea that our destiny has been predetermined by codes and algorithms if you’re among those who think we might be living in some kind of ultra-complex simulation.
Reports state that the Rangers were quite interested in signing Pascal Jansen after they lost faith in Mick Beale in October.
While still on loan at AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie, Jansen would later tell Sky Sports, “That Rangers talk caught me by surprise.” Naturally, I’m flattered since Rangers is a huge team and I have goals and aspirations.
Naturally, the giants from Glasgow would choose Philippe Clement. Jansen, on the other hand, concluded the 2-2023/24 jobless period after being fired by Arizona after a lacklustre European campaign.
One-time Rangers target could now join Sunderland
Now, through his Patreon page, Alan Nixon of The Sun claims that Jansen’s return to management may mark the conclusion of Sunderland’s protracted hunt for a new head coach.
They haven’t had one in four months, other than Beale, who was fired in February after a dismal 12-game stretch during which he made very few friends and much fewer of an influence.
According to Nixon, Sunderland has narrowed down its management hunt to three exceptional applicants. The London-born Jansen is one of them, together with Dave Challinor and Stephen Robinson, the manager of St. Mirren, who just led Stockport County to the League Two championship ahead of the Wrexham team supported by Hollywood.
Even though Clement brought a track record of winning league titles with him, Jansen may not have checked every box on Rangers’ wish list, but he seems like a solid match at Sunderland.
Sunderland requires a new manager still.
The Black Cats are pursuing forward-thinking, contemporary coaches that have a preference for collaborating with the kind of technically brilliant young players that Sunderland has a tendency to prioritise in the transfer market, according to reports from i News following Tony Mowbray’s departure prior to Christmas.
That helps to understand why they were interested in Will Still, a 31-year-old, and Francesco Farioli, another management prodigy, at the time.
According to reports, Rangers and Farioli had discussions after Giovanni Van Bronckhorst left in 2022. Having transformed Nice into one of the most proficient teams in Europe’s top divisions, the youthful Italian with his VO5 haircut is now expected to lead Ajax back to the pinnacle of Dutch football.
Meanwhile, Jansen is probably going to find the Sunderland position very appealing. And not just because it has been almost six months since he last appeared in a dugout after being passed over by Ajax himself.
Beale may have been a complete bust, winning just four games at the Stadium of Light, but this Sunderland squad is full of young talent, has a huge fan base, and has the kind of pull that should dwarf many other teams in the second division of English football.
If Jansen accepts the position, he might face another former Rangers target in 2024–2025.
A month after travelling to Ibrox and having advanced negotiations with The Gers, Jose Cordoba finalised his £3 million transfer from Levski Sofia to Norwich City, the play-off semi-finalists, this week.
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