Sheffield Wednesday’s next manager has been all but confirmed.

An agreement has been reached that will see Dave Challinor become the next boss of Sheffield Wednesday, the club have confirmed, with the former Stockport County manager set to be present at this lunchtime’s League One clash with Blackpool at Hillsborough.

Challinor was always understood to be a strong candidate in the running to take over from Henrik Pedersen after the Dane was sacked last weekend. The 51-year-old Chester-born coach will arrive with a host of managerial promotions on his CV having worked his way up through non-league before guiding Stockport to within 90 minutes of the Championship when they lost in the League One play-off final last time out.

The move to Hillsborough reunites him with sporting director Simon Wilson, who worked closely with him throughout his time at Edgeley Park. The pair are known to have a preference for front-foot football.

It’ll come as little surprise that Challinor’s long-time County assistant Clint Hill is expected to join him at S6. The former Premier League defender was a successful player with the likes of Stoke City, Crystal Palace and QPR and later spent time with Rangers before his retirement in 2018. Having held roles Fleetwood Town, Bristol Rovers and joined Challinor for the first time at Hartlepool. They were together throughout their time at Stockport having joined the club in November 2021.

The Star understands that Hill was among the figures spoken to directly during Wednesday’s efforts to secure a new manager. Proceedings appear to have reached a conclusion in the last few days, with candidates having held a first round of discussions with Wilson, brand director Oscar Chamberlain and consultant Aaron Briggs before moving forward for an interview stage with CEO David Bruce and club ownership figures.

Further coaching hires are understood to be possible as Challinor looks to move the early stages of Wednesday’s project forward. The ownership are understood to have been looking at candidates that seek to pull together the medium and longer-term ambitions of the club rather than a desperate grab at promotion this time out. Challinor and Hill bring proven scope on steering a project club.

A number of managers of different profiles and experiences are understood to have been spoken to in the late stages of the interview process - both from home and abroad. Counting Colwyn Bay, AFC Fylde, Hartlepool and Stockport as his previous clubs, Challinor has coached 839 league matches across his time and carries a win percentage of 53%.