A major claim has emerged in Sunderland's pursuit of a replacement for Lee Johnson at the Stadium of Light...

What's the talk?

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope has revealed that they have reached an agreement with a head coach to finally take over at the club more than a week after Johnson's sacking.

The ex-Bristol City boss was relieved of his duties after the 6-0 defeat to Bolton in League One at the end of January, with Kristjaan Speakman now set to replace him two games later.

Hope tweeted: "Alex Neil has agreed a deal to take over as Sunderland manager."

Buzzing

Sunderland fans will be buzzing with this news for multiple reasons.

Firstly, they will be delighted to read that significant progress is finally being made in their pursuit of a new manager. This latest claim indicates that they are inches away from being able to announce Johnson's successor, and supporters will surely be relieved that the saga is coming to a close.

It has been a frustrating period for the club as they have lost back-to-back League One matches with Mike Dodds at the helm, losing to bottom-half teams in Doncaster and Cheltenham. Speakman's lack of speed in appointing a manager has seemingly cost Sunderland six points as their interim coaching setup proved that they were not up to the task at hand.

The fans will therefore be buzzing for a new man to come in. They will also be excited as Neil comes in with the experience of getting a team promoted in similar circumstances.

Neil joined Norwich in January 2015 with the Canaries just outside the play-off picture in the Championship and led them to promotion via the play-offs. He galvanised the East Anglian outfit and took them to the Premier League, showing that he is able to make an instant impact without a pre-season or time to work out what he has within his squad.

Norwich won 15 of their 22 league games after his arrival before winning two of their three play-off matches to seal their ascent to the top flight. This highlights the potential that he has to make a difference at Sunderland, as he has proven that he can forge a winning team at a higher level than League One, which is why fans will surely be buzzing with this potential appointment.

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