Rob Edwards approach made by Wolves, rebuffed by Boro with Championship club determined to keep head coach.
Middlesbrough reject Wolves approach for head coach Rob Edwards.
Middlesbrough has turned down Wolves’ bid for Rob Edwards because they are adamant on keeping their head coach. Boro rejected Wolves’ attempt to entice Edwards on Thursday afternoon after Gary O’Neil withdrew from advanced negotiations on Monday. Wolves wants Edwards to replace Věor Pereira.
Edwards signed a three-year contract with Boro in the summer that would last until 2028, and the team is determined to keep him after he helped them finish third in the division. With the Molineux team at the bottom of the Premier League after earning just two points from their first ten games, Wolves were attempting to persuade Edwards to trade a promotion charge for a relegation struggle.
Edwards, a former player and coach at Wolves, has long been admired by Wolves, especially by its executive chair, Jeff Shi. In 2016, shortly after Wolves’ owners, Fosun, acquired the team, Edwards also briefly served as caretaker. In order to get Edwards out of his contract, Wolves were prepared to compensate Boro.
Boro has moved swiftly to try to stop the situation from getting worse because they don’t want Wolves’ interest in Edwards to turn into a drama.
Edwards’ Boro team will visit Birmingham on Saturday after earning a 1-1 draw in stoppage time at Leicester on Tuesday. At Friday’s pre-match press conference, the 42-year-old former manager of Watford, Luton, and Forest Green Rovers will likely discuss his future.
On Saturday, Wolves will go to Chelsea, where Richard Walker, the head coach of the under-18 team, and James Collins, the head coach of the under-21 team, will take over. After receiving negative feedback from fans, O’Neil, who is currently unemployed, changed his mind about taking over.
Before O’Neil withdrew from the recruitment process on Monday, the fans’ trust stated that O’Neil’s reappointment “would show a clear lack of strategic direction by the club hierarchy.” The majority of Wolves supporters strongly opposed O’Neil’s return.