Middlesbrough appear to be closing in on Rob Edwards’ replacement, with Hammarby head coach Kim Hellberg apparently close to negotiating a transfer to the Riverside, ignoring Swansea City in the process.
It appeared that the 37-year-old would be moving to the Championship, but to Swansea City rather than Middlesbrough.
However, in a major twist in the managerial competition, reports from Sweden say that Hellberg has opted to join Boro over their divisional rivals.
It’s an unusual move for Middlesbrough, given owner Steve Gibson has never appointed someone while they’ve been working elsewhere since taking over the club as chairman in 1994, and he’s only ever recruited one other foreign manager as Boro boss, Aitor Karanka in 2013.
As a result, he has never been had to pay a compensation fee.
However, when compared to what he earned from Wolves for Rob Edwards, it is a small price.
How much will Middlesbrough have to pay Hammarby for Kim Hellberg amid the Swansea City hijack?
Middlesbrough appear to be closing in on Rob Edwards’ replacement, with Hammarby head coach Kim Hellberg apparently close to negotiating a transfer to the Riverside, ignoring Swansea City in the process.
It appeared that the 37-year-old would be moving to the Championship, but to Swansea City rather than Middlesbrough.
However, in a major twist in the managerial competition, reports from Sweden say that Hellberg has opted to join Boro over their divisional rivals.
It’s an unusual move for Middlesbrough, given owner Steve Gibson has never appointed someone while they’ve been working elsewhere since taking over the club as chairman in 1994, and he’s only ever recruited one other foreign manager as Boro boss, Aitor Karanka in 2013.
As a result, he has never been had to pay a compensation fee.
However, when compared to what he earned from Wolves for Rob Edwards, it is a small price.
Middlesbrough to pay Hammarby for Kim Hellberg amid Swansea City takeover. Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson at Riverside Stadium.
According to Teesside Live, Swedish outlet fotbollskanalen, which claims Hellberg has “verbally agreed” to join Middlesbrough, reported two months ago that his contract with Hammarby included a £203,000-283,000 compensation sum.
The cost is relatively low for someone with the 37-year-old’s management track record, having worked his way up from the Swedish regional divisions to the top flight with Hammarby.
And for Middlesbrough, who just earned their own compensation fee as a result of Rob Edwards’ move to Wolves, it’s an amount well worth paying.
Given that Edwards left the Riverside less than six months into a three-year contract, the Premier League’s bottom club was forced to pay a staggering £3 million to buy out his contract with Boro.
As a result, Steve Gibson will be able to bring in a highly sought-after manager while also profiting in recent weeks from the management transition, which might provide Hellberg with an immediate transfer boost ahead of the January window.
Swansea City are back at square one as Kim Hellberg looks set on Middlesbrough.
Swansea’s tiny compensation amount for Hellberg will almost add insult to injury, demonstrating how simple it may have been to hire the highly rated Swedish coach.
The Swans would have preferred to have someone in place before Championship competition resumed this weekend following the November international break, but their top choice has been taken away from them, and they are now back at square one.
Hellberg has guided Hammarby to successive second-place finishes in Sweden’s top division, with a 56% winning percentage in 73 games.
Those figures make for compelling viewing, especially given Hammarby hasn’t finished second or higher in the Allsvenskan (Swedish top division) since 2003, and they’ll have Boro fans excited as a deal nears.
Swansea fans, on the other hand, will have to settle for sitting and watching his Middlesbrough side in Championship action as and when a move is made to determine whether this was a huge missed opportunity to bring in one of the game’s bright young managers.
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