Rob Edwards, the manager of Middlesbrough, has apparently been relieved of his managerial responsibilities in advance of Birmingham City’s Saturday afternoon visit to Riverside Stadium.
The Northern Echo claims that because his old team, Wolves, was interested in him, the Championship club initiated urgent meetings with the 42-year-old to get answers about his future.
Additionally, Alex Crook of talkSPORT has since reported that although Edwards wants to lead Boro for the Blues’ visit, the club does not think it is in his best interests to do so and has stood the former Wales international defender down because it appears he will be moving on to Molineux.
The 42-year-old coach has had a successful start to life at the Riverside since being hired by the Teesside team in the summer after Michael Carrick was fired.
As the November international break draws near, Middlesbrough is in third place in the standings and is still very much in the running for automatic promotion.
For the first time since 2017, Boro wants to qualify for the Premier League, but Wolves’ interest is creating a lot of distractions behind the scenes.
Rob Edwards of Middlesbrough’s attitude before their match against Birmingham City
Despite claims that Middlesbrough has refused to allow Edwards to lead Birmingham’s trip to the North East, it is thought that Wolves has not yet been given permission to talk with Edwards about perhaps taking over at Molineux.
With the assumption that the club has no plans to let go of the former Luton Town manager, the Premier League team’s offer to Boro was turned down.
The fact that Edwards skipped training on Friday and that his customary pregame press conference was postponed added to the rumors that he was leaving.
Following these events, Middlesbrough apparently spoke with the manager on Friday afternoon to get assurances on his future. However, with only a few hours till kickoff against Chris Davies’ Blues on Teesside, it now appears that he won’t be performing his duties.
According to reports, Edwards is Wolves’ first choice to fill the position after Vitor Pereira was fired last weekend.
From 2004 to 2008, the 42-year-old played for the Midlands team for four years, earning more than 100 appearances throughout that period.
During his tenure at Luton, he managed in the Premier League, leading the Hatters to promotion in 2023.
Although it’s unclear if that will happen, Middlesbrough will be hoping he stays at the Riverside and repeats the accomplishment.
Middlesbrough cannot allow Rob Edwards’ predicament to continue for much longer.
Boro is going through a terrible moment right now, so the club’s rumored decision to keep him off the touchline is courageous—and possibly essential.
Given the significance of this match and the fact that the Blues are playing well and Edwards’ team is beginning to wobble, the timing couldn’t be worse.
However, Middlesbrough will have some breathing room to work things out since the international break comes right after.
Although it’s not surprising that Edwards may explore a Premier League position, the chance to manage Wolves could be a poisoned chalice, so persuading him to stay could be challenging.
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