Sunderland have ex-Sheffield United, Leeds United and Barnsley boss 'top' of wanted list

The Black Cats relieved Michael Beale of his duties in February, although opted against making a permanent appointment straight away. Instead, they handed the reins to Mike Dodds on a temporary basis.

He had previously stepped into the interim head coach role earlier on in the campaign, when Tony Mowbray was dismissed. Sunderland were linked with Heckingbottom following Mowbray’s exit, but the former Blades boss has remained out of work.

However, according to reporter Alan Nixon on his Patreon page, Sunderland have Heckingbottom at the top of their list and see him as someone who ticks their boxes.

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Heckingbottom was dismissed by Sheffield United in December, having overseen a difficult start to the life back in the Premier League. He had led the club to promotion from the Championship during the previous campaign.

The 46-year-old, who also counts Leeds and Barnsley among his former clubs, claimed the Blades had lost their identity in an interview last month. He said: “I look at how someone like Luton have gone on – to try and build on what you’ve been doing really, really well, Luton have kept their squad together, recruited in a similar fashion to try and build an identity. We sort of lost our identity, through just the financial problems that we had at the club.”