DEREK McInnes will become the new Sunderland manager this week if the Stadium of Light club can agree a £1 million compensation package with Aberdeen.
Sunderland officials held talks with their Aberdeen counterparts yesterday and are optimistic they can come to an arrangement with them in the coming days.
McInnes, who will take his assistant Tony Docherty with him if he moves to Wearside, has done superbly during his four years in charge at Pittodrie.
He ended the north-east club’s 19 year wait for a major trophy back in 2014 when they lifted the League Cup after a final victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
This season Aberdeen club have reached the Betfred Cup and William Hill Scottish Cup finals and finished second in the Premiership for the third season running.
Sunderland were relegated from the Barclays Premier League last season after finishing bottom of the table – a desperately disappointing campaign which led to Davie Moyes standing down as manager.
McInnes is believed to feel that he has taken Aberdeen, who have lost their former captain Ryan Jack to Rangers and are set to see several other first team regulars depart, as far as he can.
The prospect of returning to England, where he spent a spell in charge of Bristol City, and attempting to revitalise the fortunes of Sunderland is appealing to the 45-year-old.
Martin Bain, the former Rangers chief executive who now works in the same role for Sunderland, has made an official approach to Aberdeen for permission to speak to McInnes after receiving a glowing recommendation from Walter Smith.
The news that McInnes could be set to leave Aberdeen came as the Pittodrie club announced that former chief executive Dave Cormack had made a “substantial investment in the club through the acquisition of shares” and joined their board.
The native Aberdonian was the president and chief executive of United States-based software company Brightree which was sold for £567 million last year
Cormack, 58, admitted it was inevitable that larger clubs would be interested in coming in for McInnes given what the former Morton, Rangers and Dundee United midfielder has achieved.
“His team have done an incredible job,” he said. “He’s a very astute individual. He’s not just a football manager, he’s interested in the whole club Obviously we want to keep our best people: players and the management team. But with the success we’ve had people will approach the club.”
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