Sunderland held talks with club legend over soon-to-be vacant coaching role

Sunderland held talks with Lee Cattermole regarding the U18 head coach position, reports Sunderland Echo.

Cattermole, 35, was previously in charge of Middlesbrough's U18 side, following his retirement from playing in 2020.

The former midfielder born in Stockton-on-Tees spent 10 years as a player with Sunderland, making more than 250 total appearances for the Black Cats with the bulk of those coming in the Premier League.

After a brief spell in the Netherlands, Cattermole retired. Then after another brief spell coaching with Middlesbrough, he left the club.

And Sunderland Echo have now revealed that Sunderland and Cattermole recently held talks over the soon-to-be vacant U18 head coach's position, with Adam Asghar set for Southampton, but Cattermole won't be taking on the role.

Sunderland Echo report that 'Cattermole and Sunderland have mutually agreed not to move forward beyond their initial talks'.

The U18s role...

Cattermole returning would've been a welcome one.

He's a legend at Sunderland and he would've given his all to help develop the club's youngsters.

But for whatever reason, it wasn't meant to be, and Sunderland will continue their search for Asghar's replacement before he heads to Southampton.

Expect the Black Cats to do their due diligence in their search for a new U18s coach.

The club prides itself on developing younger talents, and on producing them too with Chris Rigg the latest name to come out of the academy and into the first-team.

It should be an attractive job to a lot of coaches out there, so expect Sunderland to have had a lot of applicants for the role.

Sunderland return to Championship action v QPR this weekend.

The U18s role...

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