Sheffield United's promotion rivals appoint new head coach

The Welshman has signed a three-year deal and replaces Michael Carrick, who failed to secure a play-off place late last season from a promising position.

Edwards has had previous success in managing to get out of the Championship, having secured promotion with Luton Town in 2023 and will be hoping to do the same at the Riverside Stadium.

“It’s a real privilege to be given the opportunity to be head coach of this great football club. It’s something that’s not lost on me, how big this is, how important this is, and what it means to people. There is an amazing fanbase,” Edwards told the Middleborough FC website.

“It felt instantly that this was right for me and it got me excited. If I was going to come back in, I wanted to come back in at a place where we had a chance, and we have a really good chance here.”

Sheffield United will be hoping he doesn’t reinvigorate this Middlesbrough side so much so that he causes them problems when it comes to fighting for promotion next season.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender guided Luton to the Premier League via the play-offs, so he knows what it takes to be a success at Championship level, even if you’re not managing one of the sides fighting for the title.

However, Edwards only managed one season in the Premier League as his Hatters side struggled to make the step up to the top division. He then couldn’t rectify that drop in form when returning to the Championship and left the club by mutual agreement as Luton sat 20th in the league with just seven wins in 26 games.

Edwards’ only other attempt at managing in the Championship, outside of his spell at Luton, came at Watford in the 2022/23 season. His first game was a 1-0 win over Sheffield United, but he was sacked a month later after winning three out of his first 10 games, with Watford languishing below expectations in mid-table.