Kim Hellberg could transform £20k-a-week Middlesbrough star – World Cup dream could be realised | OneFootball

Manager-elect Kim Hellberg could be the man that gets the best out of Curacao international winger Sontje Hansen at Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough are heading for a change in management as they continue their promotion push, and one man that could be truly unlocked at the Riverside Stadium is summer signing Sontje Hansen.

Middlesbrough moved away from Michael Carrick over the summer and handed a three-year contract to former Luton Town boss Rob Edwards.

After a strong start to the season which has left the Smoggies sitting firmly in the Championship automatic promotion race at the November international break, Edwards has now departed for Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are rock-bottom in the Premier League.

His replacement, who is soon expected to be officially unveiled on Teesside amid reported competition from both Norwich City and Swansea City, is Hammarby boss Kim Hellberg.

An unknown quantity in English football, 37-year-old Hellberg, who has also previously coached Varnamo in the Swedish Allsvenskan, could be the man who gets the best out of Hansen.

It has been a difficult start for Sontje Hansen at Middlesbrough

Having moved to Middlesbrough from Dutch Eredivisie outfit NEC Nijmegen in the summer for a fee believed to be in the region of £3 million, it has been a tough start to life in the North East of England for Sontje Hansen.

The Ajax academy graduate, who is reportedly earning £20,000 per week according to Capology, who made two first-team appearances for the Amsterdam giants before his departure for NEC in the summer of 2023, has managed just two starts in his Boro career ahead of this weekend's clash with Oxford United.

He did score a vital equaliser as a late substitute at Deepdale against fellow promotion challengers Preston North End back in mid-September, as well as playing a key part in the first of Boro's three goals vs Millwall in August when executing a delicious turn with his back to goal, before playing in Morgan Whittaker who squared for Hayden Hackney, with the Boro midfielder rifling the ball home.

But, he has struggled to make a consistent and meaningful impact for Boro.

One key issue that has occurred is that Hansen is an out-and-out winger and, as was the case when he was in charge at Luton as well as at Watford and Forest Green Rovers, Rob Edwards didn’t really play with much attacking width, with wing-backs offering much of that sort of support to a narrow front two or three.

After Edwards was stood down by Boro ahead of their last couple of matches, a battling 1-1 draw at the King Power Stadium against Leicester City and then a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Birmingham City at the Riverside, interim boss Adi Viveash switched the system to a 4-2-3-1 shape.

Riley McGree and Morgan Whittaker were deployed as the wingers, but in a fluid system and matching their ball-playing traits, the pair often drifted into central areas leaving plenty of room for full-backs Matt Targett and Callum Brittain to get down the flanks too.

Hansen will now sense a massive opportunity to break into the Middlesbrough side on either flank for Boro, and Kim Hellberg could be the man to harness his talents in England’s second tier.

Kim Hellberg could help Sontje Hansen realise World Cup dream with big Middlesbrough role

Soccer Football - FIFA Under 17 World Cup - Semi Final - Netherlands v Mexico - Bezerrao Stadium, Brasilia, Brazil - November 14, 2019 Netherlands' Sontje Hansen reacts REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

During his short managerial career thus far, Hellberg has played a 4-2-3-1 system that can also be flexible in-game, often switching to a 4-3-3 system with a bit more speed and directness.

For example, in the 2025 Allsvenskan season just gone in which Hammarby finished as runners-up to eventual first-time winners Mjallby, Hammarby played an attacking style that saw them score the most goals in the division, hitting 60 in their 30 matches.

The right-winger in Hellberg’s side, Iraq international Montader Madjed, had the joint-most shots on target per game for Hammarby in the 2025 season, as well as the second most shots per game, according to FotMob.

The man with the joint-most shots on target per game was left-winger Abdelrahman Boudah, who also finished up third for the season for shots per 90, despite his departure to J League outfit Albirex Niigata in July.

Neither of those players featured too highly in terms of chances created for Hammarby, though, which would indicate an intentional emphasis on Hellberg’s wingers being the primary, or at least among the primary, sources to finish whatever move had been put together.

With an impressive midfield and plenty of other facilitators for the attacks, Hansen, should he begin to be trusted to start from either the right or the left as he is capable of playing on either flank, is therefore likely to be expected to be the man that gets himself most often in the positions to score.

Having joined a team that didn’t really utilise wingers at all, Hansen will be returning from helping Curacao qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that value sheer attacking output from their wide men as a priority.

It has been a frustrating start to his time in England, but if Boro and Hellberg were able to replicate a similar style to that of Hammarby, then Hansen should be in a position to thrive and confirm his spot in Dick Advocaat’s Curaçaoan squad next summer.