Michael Carrick is on the verge of taking over at Middlesbrough – partly on the recommendation of England boss Gareth Southgate.
The former Manchester United midfielder has been among the frontrunners to succeed Chris Wilder but appeared to have ruled himself out of the job after a first round of talks last week.
However, it is understood earlier disagreements over the composition of his backroom staff have now been resolved, and that has paved the way for Carrick to re-start talks with an agreement now edging closer.
Carrick left Old Trafford last year after Ralf Rangnick was brought to the club as interim head coach and has been looking for a first opportunity in frontline management since.
Many at United now believe he should have been given a longer audition given he was unbeaten as caretaker boss, while the brief Rangnick experiment descended into farce.
Carrick is well thought of in the game and would arrive on Teesside with glowing references, not least from ex-Boro captain Southgate – who has advocated his appointment to club chairman Steve Gibson.
Barring any further hitches an announcement confirming Carrick in post could even come within 24 hours with struggling Boro eager to have their man in place before they take on fellow relegation battlers Huddersfield Town at the weekend.
If it happens it represents a fascinating first managerial mission for Carrick, who will be pitched into a Championship relegation battle at a club that has struggled to find an identity since relegation from the top flight in 2017.
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Tipped to mount a promotion push this season, they instead find themselves in a relegation battle and Carrick’s first job would be extricating them from that.
Their football structure has come under scrutiny after tensions between Wilder and the club’s hierarchy surrounding recruitment in the close season, and it will be interesting to see how things work if Carrick gets the nod.
As reported by i last week, Carrick had at first decided not to pursue the opportunity with differences over his backroom staff and transfer policy thought to have influenced his decision.
But there have seemingly been concessions on both sides to get the deal back on track.
It will spell disappointment for Rob Edwards, who was the first manager to be interviewed and was keen on the role. But initial talks did not progress and it now appears more than likely Carrick will be in place before the weekend.
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