Sunderland ready to make McInnes move

Sunderland are hoping to get permission to speak to Derek McInnes this week.

Despite heavy speculation that Ryan Giggs was on his way to take over from David Moyes a report in The Express has claimed that the Aberdeen boss is Sunderland’s number one target.

McInnes is currently on holiday after leading Aberdeen to the Scottish Cup Final where they lost 2-1 to Celtic.

The 45-year-old had a stint in England managing Bristol City and is believed to still have ambitions to manage in England.

After four seasons in charge of Aberdeen, McInnes found his side in runners-up place to Celtic in all three domestic competitions.

Aberdeen are likely to give permission for Sunderland to speak to their manager but believe that they can persuade McInnes to stay on at Pittodrie.

Sunderland don’t report back for pre-season training until the end of June but are hoping to get a manager installed to put together a squad capable of challenging for promotion.