The Sunderland owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, has held positive discussions with Will Still about replacing Tony Mowbray as manager, with the 31-year-old having emerged as the frontrunner for the post.

Still, who has guided Reims to eighth in Ligue 1 in his second season in charge, is understood to be considering taking over at the Stadium of Light after speaking to Louis-Dreyfus. He is highly rated by the Sunderland chairman after his success since being appointed by Reims last year, when a 17-match unbeaten run led to them eventually finishing 11th.

Reports in Belgium on Tuesday claimed there have been disagreements over recruitment during the upcoming January transfer window between Still and the owners of Reims. The former Preston North End youth coach is believed to be open to a new challenge in the Championship despite potentially giving up the chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League at his current club.

Sunderland held talks with the Swedish coach Kim Hellberg last week but he is now expected to join Hammaby as a replacement for Martí Cifuentes, who moved to Queens Park Rangers at the end of October. They have also been linked with Julien Sablé, the assistant coach at Nice. Mike Dodds has been placed in temporary charge since Mowbray’s sacking last week

Born in Belgium to English parents, Still coached Preston’s under-14s before beginning his managerial career at Lierse in 2017 when he was just 24 and has also managed Beerschot. His younger brother, Nicolas, is also on the coaching staff at Reims.