Wolves reportedly approached Middlesbrough about Rob Edwards on Thursday night and granted permission to speak to the current winless Premier League club and their head coach.
Middlesbrough have agreed terms with Wolverhampton Wanderers, allowing Rob Edwards to speak to the Premier League club. Boro initially rejected an approach from Wolves, but Edwards made it clear he wanted to discuss the head coaching vacancy with his former club.
The Teesside team released a club statement two hours before they faced Birmingham City in the Championship. This comes after Edwards canceled a pregame press conference scheduled to preview this weekend’s game.
It was also widely reported that the club’s head coach did not lead Friday’s practice. Saturday’s statement was their first reaction to the developing news.
read more: Wolves’ manager search moves to next stage after top target resigns hours before kick-offread more: Middlesbrough cancel press conference, Wolves backed by Rob Edwards
“Middlesbrough Football Club has given head coach Rob Edwards permission to speak to Wolves, subject to the completion of an agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers FC,” it read. “We initially rejected Wolves’ approach on the basis that Rob had signed a three-year contract with MFC less than six months earlier.
“Following discussions with Rob, we were disappointed to learn that he wished to speak to Wolves regarding the head coaching vacancy. We have now agreed terms with Wolves, subject to the completion of the relevant documentation.”
“First-team coaches Adi Viveash and Harry Watling and academy director Craig Liddle will be in charge of team operations for Saturday’s game against Birmingham City at the Riverside.” Viveash and Watling joined Boro after Edwards took over this summer, but the trio had never worked together before.
Edwards played 111 games for Wolves from 2004 to 2008, before retiring and returning as Under-18 coach. He then became first-team coach, briefly serving as caretaker manager for two games in 2016 before stepping down at the end of that season.
After a season in charge of his hometown club Telford United in the National League North, Edwards returned to Wolves as Under-23 head coach. He then stepped down as England Under-16s coach just over a year later, before resuming his senior coaching career with Forest Green Rovers in 2021.
Edwards left after winning League Two in his only season with the club and joined Watford. In a statement confirming his resignation, Forest Green said: “We are disappointed that our support, loyalty and loyalty to Rob was rewarded in this way and that negotiations took place behind the scenes.”
“We haven’t heard anything from Watford and we may not have expected much, but this kind of behavior gives football a bad name anyway. We thank Rob for all his work at FGR. We forgive him and wish him well.”
Watford sacked Edwards after just 11 games, and rivals Luton Town appointed him a few weeks later. They won promotion through the play-offs at the end of that season.
Luton were relegated at the end of their first season in the Premier League and subsequently struggled in the second division. Edwards left by mutual consent in January, leaving the club in 20th place, but suffered relegation again under his replacement, manager Matt Bloomfield.
And Middlesbrough appointed him this summer after sacking former Man United manager Michael Carrick. Edwards won his first four league games and won the Manager of the Month award for August, with Boro sitting fourth, but they have won just three of their 10 games since the start of September.
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