THE GOING RATE

Dons want £1m from Sunderland if McInnes moves on

SUNDERLAND will have to pay Aberdeen £1million in compensation to secure Derek McInnes as their new manager.

The Wearside club, relegated from the Premier League last season, are closing in on McInnes after they began official talks with Aberdeen yesterday.

The 45-year-old has yet to return from his summer holiday but it seems increasingly likely he will be heading for the Stadium of Light later this week to thrash out personal terms.

Aberdeen are believed to be asking for £1m to release him and assistant Tony Docherty from deals which run until 2019 and, with no other candidates in the running for the post vacated by David Moyes, are likely to get close to that figure.

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock last night added fuel to the theory that McInnes’ switch is

now inevitable by hinting that Jonny Hayes may also be moving to Sunderland. Warnock has now given up his lengthy pursuit of the Dubliner, who is also coveted by Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. While the Dons will be naturally reluctant to let their manager go after a successful four-year period, the fact they have engaged with the Black Cats suggests they are now resigned to it happening. Martin Bain, the former Rangers chief executive, now fills that position at the Stadium of Light and is a huge admirer of the job McInnes has done at Pittodrie. Although Sunderland’s last recorded debt was £110.4m, their financial woes will be eased by the £30m they are set to accrue from Everton for the sale of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the £47m parachute payment they receive for being relegated. Hayes, who has two years on his contract to run, would be available for around £1.5m with Warnock last night expressing his belief that the prospect of the 29-year-old following McInnes to Sunderland is the reason he has been unable to get the deal over the line. ‘You can only wait for so long and you’ve got to move on,’ added Warnock. ‘Aberdeen want two players from Celtic and they’ve been messing us around for quite a few weeks now. ‘And it wouldn’t surprise me if their manager Derek McInnes goes to Sunderland either — there might be other motives behind everything stalling. ‘We’ve moved on and gone on to another one or two targets that haven’t been mentioned yet.’ While the loss of McInnes will be blow to the Dons, the club yesterday announced that former chief executive Dave Cormack had returned to the club as a director and major investor. The Atlanta-based businessman — who sold his software company Brightree for £567m in 2016 — has pledged to provide a fresh cash injection at Pittodrie after buying shares in the club. ‘While I have continued to support and provide advice to the club for many years, I’m honoured to be back on the board,’ he said.