The 37-year-old arrives after an impressive stint in the Allsvenskan with the Stockholm outfit.
We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Kim Hellberg as our new head coach🤝
Welcome to Boro, Kim 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/tyjgIgVt1q
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) November 24, 2025
A Surprise Departure: Will This Affect Boro’s Rhythm?
Middlesbrough lost manager Rob Edwards to Wolves last week after only 15 Championship matches in charge. Appointed in June, the 42-year-old Welshman posted 7 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats, averaging 1.73 points per game. Boro scored 25 and conceded 16 under him, sat in the top six for most of the autumn.
Wolves triggered a £3 million release clause and gave Edwards a three-and-a-half-year contract at Molineux, where he played 111 times as a player and once coached the U23’s and had a short spell as caretaker in 2016. Assistant Harry Watling followed him to the Black Country.
The journey to the Riverside 📈
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) November 24, 2025
The move makes sense for Wolves: Edwards has two promotions on his CV with Forest Green Rovers in 2022 and Luton Town in 2023, and specialises in organised, counter-attacking football. For Boro, the timing is brutal. The squad had bought into his methods, and promotion felt realistic with him at the helm.
First-team coach Adi Viveash took temporary charge and has picked up 4 points from his first 2 games: a 2-1 win against Birmingham City on the day the news broke and a 1-1 draw at Oxford United on 22 November. As of now Boro are 2nd in the Championship with 30 points from 16 games, 7 points behind leaders Coventry City but with a game in hand.
Head of football Kieran Scott reflects on the appointment of Kim Hellberg 💬 pic.twitter.com/G5dVmzzlKw
— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro) November 24, 2025
“Kim is someone I’ve been monitoring for a while.”
“He’s well known in the circles of European football as an up-and-coming head coach that was catching a lot of people’s eye and was doing really well at Hammarby.
“We met a few candidates, but Kim was high on my list of people I wanted to speak to.
“Myself, Neil (Bausor) and Steve (Gibson) met him and were very impressed with what he had to say and how he carried himself.
“We felt it was an appointment that could take us forward, and we’re very pleased to bring him in.”
New manager Kim Hellberg said:
“I’m delighted to have been appointed as Boro’s head coach and I’m very proud to be here.
“A lot of things make Boro the perfect choice for me.
“The way they play and want to play, together with the crowd, suits me and how I want to work.
“I want us to play quick and aggressive football, and to try to win the ball as quickly as possible if we don’t have it. I want us to be quick on goal and create a lot of chances.
“I’ve been very impressed with the players and how they’ve worked so far this season, and I’m looking forward to getting to work with them.”
Can They Return To The Top Flight?
The short answer is yes, and the club has already moved decisively. Today confirming Kim Hellberg as the new head coach on a deal until summer 2029, paying Hammarby £250,000 in compensation. The 37-year-old Swede left Hammarby sitting 3rd in the 2025 Allsvenskan with two games to play.
In his two full seasons, he finished 2nd in 2023 and 2nd again in 2024, won the Swedish Cup in 2024, scored 108 goals across league and cup in 2024 alone and built the league’s most attacking side with the highest xG for two straight years. He works with high pressing, quick transitions and heavy rotation of young players. Hellberg and assistant David Selin will take training from now.
The immediate fixtures are huge before Christmas with key games against sides such as leaders Coventry City, play-off hopefuls Hull City and Bristol City. Boro still have the joint-second-best goal difference in the division, only one home defeat all season and key men such as Hayden Hackney, Morgan Whittaker and Tommy Conway.
Automatic promotion will surely remain the target despite this change and the squad depth is strong enough to cope. A tricky week ahead, but the club is stable again, and the path to the Premier League is still open.
