Gothenburg Great Alex McLeish believes Derek McInnes will struggle to resist the temptation to manage in England again.
Sunderland are closing in on their man after agreeing compensation with Aberdeen for their manager and his assistant Tony Docherty yesterday.
McInnes led the Dons to runners-up spot in all three domestic competitions last season and McLeish believes the lure of the Championship, and with it the chance of winning promotion to the Premier League with the Black Cats, could prove too tempting a proposition to turn down for the Aberdeen manager.
He said: “You would think that it would be a good time for him.
“I don’t want the Aberdeen supporters to lose their highly-rated manager but when you look at Derek’s career it would be a step up.
“Sunderland are a big club and the Championship is one of the best supported leagues in the world.
“It is a huge opportunity for Derek, if indeed Sunderland were to appoint him.”
The loss of McInnes would be a huge blow to the Dons following the departure of former captain Ryan Jack to Rangers, Peter Pawlett to MK Dons and the decision of Niall McGinn and Ash Taylor to move on.
Celtic are also closing in on midfielder Jonny Hayes after having their £1.3million plus a season-loan of Ryan Christie offer accepted.
Despite a drastic overhaul at the Dons getting under way McLeish insists the Dons will still be a force to be reckoned with next season and believes the arrival of former chief executive on to the board at Pittodrie will help the rebuilding effort at the club.
US-based businessman Dave Cormack has acquired shares to become a major player at Pittodrie after investing several million pounds in the club.
McLeish, who has been linked with a return to Pittodrie should McInnes move on, said: “Rangers have got to prove that they can get above them. That doesn’t just happen because two or three players leave or the manager leaves.
“You can sense that there is maybe a bit of a break-up and a rebuild there. But Dave Cormack, a good friend of mine, is going to help Aberdeen and he will put some money in, so maybe that will be key for them to try to stay above Rangers.
“If you are a Rangers player, the expectation is that you have to win every week and that is what this team will have to learn very quickly.”
Former Aston Villa and Wolves manager Paul Lambert is not surprised McInnes is attracting interest from England after rebuilding his reputation with the Dons following a disappointing spell in charge at Bristol City.
The former Celtic midfielder said: “He deserves his chance at it, he’s done really well at Aberdeen, so I don’t think it will be a problem to him. The only thing will be the expectancy level.
“If he does go there he’s not just taking on a club that is just a small club, you’re talking about a club with history behind it, a huge supporter base, a big stadium, a great training ground; it’s got everything.
“He had that little blip at Bristol City, which everyone goes through. You lose a job and you go into another one, you make a success of it and people start to say, ‘OK we’ll take him again’.”