London (AFP) – Chris Coleman is set to quit Wales and become the new manager of Championship club Sunderland this weekend after his country failed to qualify for the World Cup, reports said Friday.
Coleman, who led a Gareth Bale-inspired Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, will be given the job of trying to guide Sunderland off the bottom of the table and ultimately back to the Premier League.
His future with Wales was in doubt from the moment they failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Sunderland sacked Simon Grayson at the end of October and a number of candidates are believed to have distanced themselves from the job at the Stadium of Light.
Sources at the club have told Britain’s Press Association that Coleman is the only man to have been offered the job despite speculation that Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill turned down the opportunity.
Coleman will take over a club hampered by financial constraints and in grave danger of suffering relegation for the second consecutive season.
But it appears the lure of a return to club management after five years away proved strong for 47-year-old former Fulham boss Coleman.
He became Wales manager in January 2012 following the tragic death of Gary Speed and built a team around Real Madrid winger Bale that shocked Europe’s elite nations to reach the last four at Euro 2016 in France.
