Peterborough United’s relegation rivals miss out on Chris Wilder as he heads to fellow Championship side

The 54-year-old, who led Sheffield United from League One to the Premier League in his last job, was heavily linked with the Barnsley job by some news organisations after the Tykes sacked Marcus Schopp last week (November 1).

The move would have undoubtedly been a surprising one but would have enabled Wilder, who was sacked by his boyhood club in March, to stay based in Yorkshire. Wilder has now, however, signed with Middlesbrough, who sacked Neil Warnock just the previous day after a 1-1 draw away at West Brom. Boro currently sit 14th in the Championship table and are without a win in three after defeats against Luton and Birmingham prior to Saturday. Before that, they were on a three-match winning run, which began with the 2-0 victory over Posh at the Riverside Stadium in October with a heavily patched up side.

The veteran boss would have been considered quite a coup for whichever club managed to land him, with Cardiff City also mentioned as a possible destination. Wilder will begin his tenure at home to Millwall after the international break and will presumably be tasked with reigniting Boro’s play-off push.

The managerial search continues for Barnsley, who sit 23rd after defeat to Hull on Saturday. They are currently four points behind Posh. Ex-Newport boss Michael Flynn is currently the favourite with the bookies, just ahead of former Preston boss Alex Neil and current assistant manager Joseph Laumann.