Sunderland close to appointing Derek McInnes after 'positive' compensation talks with Aberdeen

On a hectic day that also saw them accept Everton’s £30m offer for goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, the Black Cats finally made a significant breakthrough in their search for David Moyes’ successor.

Having identified McInnes as his preferred candidate more than a week ago, Sunderland chief executive Martin Bain was forced to wait as the former Bristol City boss completed a family holiday in the United States.

Bain has canvassed a wide range of opinions since Moyes departed in the wake of Sunderland’s relegation to the Championship, and also spoke to a handful of potential candidates that included newly-appointed Middlesbrough boss Garry Monk.

However, he quickly settled on McInnes as his preferred option, and was spurred into action yesterday after the former Rangers midfielder returned to British soil.

Bain made formal contact with Aberdeen officials to confirm Sunderland’s desire to appoint McInnes at the Stadium of Light, and the SPL club’s board convened to discuss the situation.

It is understood the Aberdeen hierarchy concluded they would be unable to stand in McInnes’ way, with the 45-year-old having confirmed his desire to hold face-to-face talks with Bain.

However, Aberdeen’s board were determined to hold out for the maximum possible compensation, with McInnes, who is currently understood to be earning around £700,000-a-year in the SPL, still having two years of his contract to run.

Aberdeen’s demanded around £1.2m in compensation, and while Sunderland were initially unwilling to pay such a figure, talks ended last night with a compromise believed to be close.

Sunderland officials expect to receive formal permission to speak to McInnes later today, and his appointment should be confirmed in the next 48 hours.

McInnes is a former midfielder who enjoyed playing spells at Rangers, West Brom, Dundee United, Millwall and St Johnstone.

He cut his managerial teeth at St Johnstone, before moving into the Championship to manage Bristol City in 2011. He spent just over a year at Ashton Gate, leading them to safety from the foot of the table in the first season, but failing to achieve similar results in his second campaign.

He returned to Scotland to take over at Aberdeen, and led his current employers to a second-place finish in the SPL last season as well as the final of the Scottish FA Cup. Aberdeen will be playing European football next season, but with Celtic’s financial muscle making them all-but-impossible to match, he clearly feels he has taken the Dons as far as he can.

His challenge at Sunderland is no less difficult, with the Black Cats having lost 12 senior players since their relegation was confirmed at the end of last season.

That figure effectively rose to 13 yesterday, with Sunderland accepting Everton’s £30m bid for Pickford. As revealed in The Northern Echo last month, Everton were always leading the race for Pickford, who will complete the formalities of his move to Goodison Park when he returns from the European Under-21 Championships, which are due to start later this week.

His £30m price tag, which features a series of performance-related payments, makes him the third most expensive goalkeeper in history, and highlights just how impressively he performed last season despite Sunderland’s position at the foot of the Premier League table.

A product of Sunderland’s academy, the Washington-born shot-stopper was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award even though he started the season as understudy to Vito Mannone.

He came into the team for the third game of the campaign at Southampton, and immediately impressed with a succession of eye-catching saves.

He earned a call-up to England’s senior ranks last October, and leaves Sunderland having made 35 senior starts for his boyhood club.

He will be Everton’s number one next season, with Toffees boss Ronald Koeman having lost faith in Joel Robles and Maarten Stekelenburg, who shared the goalkeeping duties at Goodison Park last term.