What the papers say: Jurgen Klinsmann, Ex-Black Cat Robinson & Berlin’s Keller in the frame

Klinsmann the man

According to The Sun and the Daily Mail, Jurgen Klinsmann will be considered for the Sunderland job should a takeover by a German consortium happen this week.

And it's an obvious link to make in many ways. The 52-year-old is a high profile figure in this country after his spells with Tottenham and his exploits at World Cups as both a player and manager. And he's German. Bingo.

Klinsmann is best remembered on Wearside for torturing Sunderland at Roker Park in an FA Cup Fourth Round game in January 1995. Premier League Spurs ran out 4-1 winners against their Division One opponents that day. 21,000 were in the crowd in a Sunday fixture with the German international hitting a brace.

After holding Tottenham at bay in the first half, Sunderland imploded with Gary Bennett sent off for a stunning one-handed save to keep out a shot from Gica Popescu. Tragically for Sunderland he wasn't playing in goal and the strike had already beaten the home goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain.

The Sunderland central defender would later admit his folly was 'just instinct' and Klinsmann slotted home the resulting penalty. Andy Melville would then contribute an own goal as Tottenham then strode to victory.

But Klinsmann - who was linked with the England job last summer when Sam Allardyce was snatched from the Stadium of Light - has not held a management position since he was dismissed from the USA national team job last November. And he's a largely derided figure in the States for his five year stint with the USMNT.

Klinsmann's only club management position was an eight-month spell with Bayern Munich nearly a decade ago. He was sacked after leading the Deutsch giants to the quarter final of the Champions League with doubts over his tactical nous and ability to communicate with his players.

Regardless, the German legend would be something of coup for a club in the Championship like Sunderland, though whether he could be persuaded to swap his California home for Wearside remains to be seen.

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Or how about another State-side boss?

Alternatively, the same article in The Sun suggests that former Sunderland player Carl Robinson has been sounded out about taking the job at the Stadium of Light. The 40-year-old is currently in charge of MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps.

Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images

The Canadian side beat a Black Cats pre-season squad back in 2005 by three-goals-to-nil - a game in which Robinson featured for Sunderland.

Roker legend Dave Watson also turned out for the White Caps back in the early 80s, a decade after he appeared in the most famous FA Cup final in history with Sunderland.

Welshman Robinson played 45 times for the Black Cats between 2004 and 2006, collecting a championship winners medal when Sunderland gain promotion under Mick McCarthy.

Robinson linked up with the Vancouver outfit after he retired from playing in 2012 first becoming coach then manager in December 2013. He has led the White Caps to two MLC Cup play-off appearances and qualification to the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time.

After Bob Bradley's failure at Swansea, few will be overly excited at the prospect of another mid-ranked MLS manager chancing their arm in England but Robinson has always hinted he would relish a crack at management in this country.

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And the rest

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail revealed yesterday that former Leicester and Derby boss Nigel Pearson has no interest in succeeding David Moyes at the Stadium of Light.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

And the Daily Express follow up on the emergence of Union Berlin coach Jens Keller as second favourite for the Sunderland job. The 46-year-old is considered an ideal candidate for a raid on Bundesliga I and II for the cream of cheap German talent.