Former Aston Villa and Wolves defender ‘favourite’ for Championship vacancy

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard’s future has been the subject of speculation early in the season while Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently looking for a new head coach after Bruno Lage’s sacking.

Meanwhile, there are also three managerial vacancies down in the Championship and a former Villa and Wolves defender appears to be a contender for all of them.

Hull City and Cardiff City are both looking for new bosses but it’s Middlesbrough, who parted company with former Sheffield United gaffer Chris Wilder this week, that Rob Edwards is the favourite to take over.

The 39-year old came through the youth ranks at Villa Park but made only a handful of first team appearances between 1999 and 2004 before joining Wolves after loan spells at Crystal Palace and Derby County.

Edwards played over 100 games in the Championship for the Molineux side between 2004 and 2008 before moving to Blackpool.

After ending his playing career in 2014 he moved into coaching and was appointed interim manager of Wolves in 2016 having worked at the club as a youth and assistant coach.

He gained notoriety as a manager with Forest Green Rovers when he led them to the EFL League 2 title last season and that earned him a shot as the manager of Watford.

However, the trigger happy London club have a habit of not keeping coaches around for too long and Edward was given just four months, amassing 11 games in charge of the Hornets.

Despite having his tenure cut to short, it doesn’t look like the 39-year old will be out of the dugout for too long and could get another crack at the EFL Championship.

He is the current favourite to replace Chris Wilder at Middlesbrough but is also considered a contender for the Hull City vacancy and may even be on the radar of Cardiff City as well.

At the time of publication, former Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal is the favourite for the Hull City job while Cardiff City caretaker Mark Hudson looks to be in line for the vacancy at the Bluebirds.