The latest Sunderland manager candidate

Sunderland are reportedly interested in hiring IF Elfsborg manager Jimmy Thelin.

Sunderland are still without a manager after sacking Tony Mowbray last week, but they appear to be nearing the end of their search.

Will Still appeared to be the front-runner until Fabrizio Romano announced that Sunderland’s #1 target was a fresh name.

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Soon later, Alan Nixon announced that Thelin, 45, had held negotiations with the club and is now a strong candidate to join the Stadium of Light.

Who is Jimmy Thelin?

Thelin now manages Swedish top flight club IF Elfsborg.

His team finished second in the Allsvenskan league and qualified for the Europa League next season, narrowly losing the crown to Swedish heavyweights Malmo on goal difference.

Elfsborg scored 59 goals and allowed 26 in 30 league games in 2023.

Thelin has been the club’s manager since 2018. Since then, he has transformed Elfsborg into a title contender in Sweden, albeit his team has yet to win the title under his leadership.

What do we know about his style of play?

Based on this season’s figures, we can say that Thelin is a manager with an overall game, as his Elfsborg team had the league’s best defensive record and the third-best attacking record.

There was also no clear standout goal-scorer in the lineup.

Elfsborg had six players who scored five or more goals in the Allsvenskan in 2023, led by midfielder Keppe Okkels, who scored 11 and helped seven.

Total Football Analysis said earlier this year that Thelin’s preferred formation is 4-2-3-1, but he can also play 4-4-1-1.

And it appears that a key part of Thelin’s style of play was that his Elfsborg team defended all the way across the pitch.

Regaining the ball high in the opposing half was important to Elfsborg’s success, but so was the team’s ability to win the ball back almost anywhere on the pitch.

Elfsborg wears a high press similar to this, although their pressing approach is not limited to dashing at defenders high up the pitch.

Elfsborg players would swarm on opposing players almost anywhere on the field, allowing them to regain possession and progressively set up attacking plays.

Elfsborg averaged 46.5% possession per game and 308 accurate passes per game during the 2023 league season (Sofascore).

The side also averaged 148 correct passes in their own half compared to 166 in the opposing half, with 31.2 long balls and only 5.2 crosses, indicating that Thelin’s strategy is to attack via the middle or work the ball into the box with shorter passes.

Sunderland has averaged 452 accurate passes per game this season, with 240 in their own half and 216 in the opposing half, as well as 18.6 long balls and 4.3 crosses.

While Thelin’s Elfsborg don’t pass the ball as often as Sunderland, a superior collection of players on Wearside might see Thelin’s methods succeed even more than they did in Sweden.

He appears to be a very modern coach, with his Elfsborg side having success in recent years, and he could be a wonderful fit for what is a very modern-run Sunderland club.

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