Middlesbrough are set to reveal Garry Monk as their new manager in the next few days after being relegated from the Premier League.
The former Leeds United manager will become the first permanent appointment following the dismissal of Aitor Karanka as Steve Agnew temporarily took the job on last season.
Looking to bounce back
Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson has made his intentions for an immediate return to the Premier League very evident since their relegation back to the Championship.
It was a very poor season for the club as they struggled to compete at the highest level. This saw Karanka lose his job and Agnew temporarily took over a team who were severely struggling to find the back of the net.
However, the appointment of Monk with James Beattie as his assistant, will give fresh hope to Boro supporters that they can return to the top flight at the first attempt. Monk's attractive style of play is also likely to be a hit at the Riverside Stadium.
The club also have the significant financial boost of parachute payments following their relegation, meaning that Monk is likely to have plenty to play with this summer. However, Boro already have a strong enough squad to mount a promotion challenge with the likes of Patrick Bamford likely to step up once again in the second tier.
An exciting young manager
Monk has only recently left his position at Leeds United in controversial fashion after the club failed to make the Championship play-offs. However, he did a superb job at Elland Road, and achieved Leeds' highest league position for a significant amount of time.
It was a disappointing end to the season for the Yorkshire club. They were 11 points clear of 7th place in March after beating newly-promoted Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0. Despite this, Leeds' form tailed off significantly in the final eight games which saw them drop out of the play-off places after being overtaken by Fulham.
Monk's only other job was at Premier League Swansea City where he was eventually sacked after 12 years at the club as player and then manager. He did make a good start to his managerial career but was sacked in December 2015 after only winning one league match in 11 with the club being in severe danger of the drop.
Karanka to go the other way?
Remarkably, Leeds could opt to appoint former Boro boss Aitor Karanka as their replacement for Monk. He remains favourite for the Elland Road hot seat, mainly due to the fact that his close friend Victor Orta has already been appointed in a backroom role at the club.
This would just sum up the current managerial merry-go-round which is happening in the Championship. Monk has been heavily linked with the current vacancy at Crystal Palace but he appears to be staying in the Championship for at least another season.