Middlesbrough told to appoint former Southampton manager if Rob Edwards departs for Wolves | OneFootball

Rob Edwards has been heavily linked with the Middlesbrough job, and FLW's Middlesbrough pundit highlights Ralph Hasenhuttl as a potential replacement

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough began the 2025/26 Championship season in scintillating form.

The club from Teesside won all four of their opening Championship games and wouldn't be defeated until gameweek nine, losing 1-0 away to Portsmouth.

Led by former Watford and Luton Town boss Rob Edwards, Middlesbrough have defied early expectations and sit in a comfortable third place after 14 games, with only Stoke City and Coventry City above them at this stage.

This form has not gone unnoticed, with Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers earmarking the former Welsh international defender as a potential replacement for Vitor Pereira at Molineux, following the sacking of the Portuguese boss earlier in the week.

On Thursday, Wolves made an approach for the Middlesbrough boss. However, Boro instantly rejected the approach, remaining adamant that they do not want to lose their head coach.

With interest in Edwards high, Boro will need a replacement lined up just in case of the outcome that the Welshman does indeed depart, and we asked our Middlesbrough fan pundit, Liam, who he thought would be a good replacement at The Riverside.

Football League World's Middlesbrough fan pundit, Liam, has backed Hasenhuttl for the Boro job should Edwards soon leave for Wolves.

Liam said: "I mean, it's not the greatest available managers without a job, I can't see Steve Gibson going for someone who is in a job. He never likes to do that.

"I think Ralph Hasenhuttl would be the one who stands out to me. I feel like he'd be willing to take the job down to the Championship if it were a team fighting for promotion.

"To be fair to Edwards, he's got us in a good position where we are probably quite an attractive job, and Steve Gibson will back any manager that we get in January, so I think that would be a good one.

"He did well at Southampton, and I would say he was quite unfairly sacked, so he is someone I would like to see.

"I don't know if he would be willing to take the job, but if we was, that's definitely the one I would go for, just as long as we don't get Russell Martin really."

Having most recently been with German Bundesliga side VFL Wolfsburg before his dismissal in May 2025, Austrian head coach Hasenhuttl has been without a club since he departed from Die Wölfe.

Middlesbrough would not be his first gig in England, though, having managed Southampton in the Premier League between December 2018 and November 2022, in what was a chaotic time, to say the least.

In October 2019, Southampton lost 9-0 at home to Leicester City, in what was the joint-biggest Premier League defeat of all time, after which he publicly apologised following the humiliating defeat, but the board backed him nonetheless.

An 11th-place finish in his second season was achieved, and he would begin the following season strongly at St Mary's, but another damning 9-0 defeat, this time away to Manchester United, along with some indifferent form, meant the Saints ultimately finished 15th.

His sacking in November 2022 was the last time he was in a coaching position in England, but should Edwards leave for Wolves, his name may just crop up as a potential candidate.

It remains unclear whether the Austrian would be willing to drop to the Championship, with years of Premier League and Bundesliga experience under his belt, but with Boro in a healthy position both on and off the pitch, it certainly can't be ruled out just yet.