Sunderland could hire perfect Mowbray successor in the “brightest football mind”

Sunderland made the controversial decision to sack Tony Mowbray last Monday, having been in charge of the Black Cats for the past 15 months and overseeing a run to the Championship playoffs last season.

The club in the North East had been on a poor run of form under the experienced coach, losing twice to Huddersfield Town and Plymouth Argyle and getting nothing but a point away at Millwall before the board decided to pull the trigger on Mowbray’s time in charge.

Despite an impressive victory at the weekend under caretaker boss Mike Dodds, Sunderland’s hierarchy will have been working tirelessly to find Mowbray’s long-term replacement in the Stadium of Light dugout and have an impressive name on the list.

Sunderland manager news – Kim Hellberg

It was reported last week that Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus was set to meet with IFK Varnamo head coach Kim Hellberg about becoming the new manager.

The Swedish trainer had worked wonders with Varnamo in the Allsvenskan, guiding the side with the lowest budget in the division to a tenth-place finish in his first season with the club. Varnamo followed this up by ending the 2023 campaign in fifth which is an incredible achievement, before the 35-year-old announced that he was stepping down from his position at the end of his contract this month.

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Hellberg has built up his reputation in Sweden and even earned massive praise from his assistant coach David Selini, who called Kim the “brightest football mind [he’s] come across”. This bright, young mind could be the perfect successor for Mowbray at the Stadium of Light.

Kim Hellberg’s style of play

Hellberg comes from the German school of coaching in which his teams want to have the ball and to build attacks from the back but use a high press as a process of playmaking to create chances.

During his time with Varnamo, the side managed to pick up 1.38 points per game but this figure increased to 1.5 over the 2023 Allsvenskan campaign, a tally that only four other sides in Sweden’s top-flight bested. In contrast, Mowbray managed to accumulate 1.46 points per game throughout his time in charge of the Black Cats.

The Swede is a tactician with no set formation, preferring his team to be somewhat of a tactical chameleon who can be flexible with their structures from game to game, similar to that of Julian Nagelsmann and Graham Potter’s sides – although Transfermarkt have noted the 4-3-3 as the young coach’s favoured shape.

Mowbray tended to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 with Sunderland, so the players certainly won’t be unfamiliar with the shape. Additionally, like Hellberg, Mowbray was keen for his team to press high up the pitch to win possession as close to goal as possible. No team in the Championship has more high turnovers that led to a goal than Sunderland this season with five, according to Opta’s data.

Sunderland could look to replicate Queens Park Rangers’ success with Marti Cifuentes by bringing Hellberg to the club, despite never having coached in English football.

Having been stuck in a tricky situation when Gareth Ainsworth was dismissed from his position back in October, QPR are on a three-game winning streak and have lost just once in his seven matches in charge. The Spaniard will know Hellberg well from his time in Sweden with Hammarby as the duo faced off against each other three times in the Allsvenskan over the past two seasons. Hellberg came out on top all three times.

Sunderland are currently sitting inside the playoff places and Hellberg could be the man to finally take the side back to the Premier League for the first time in almost seven years.