Middlesbrough are in advanced talks with Michael Carrick over the vacant head coach position at the Riverside Stadium.
The 41-year-old - a five-time Premier League winner during a 12-year spell as a player at Manchester United - has been identified as the preferred candidate to replace the sacked Chris Wilder.
Carrick has held advanced discussions with the Boro hierarchy in the past 48 hours, with the Teesside club hoping to make an announcement in the coming days.
Wilder was dismissed on October 3 after five defeats in the first 11 league games of the season and a Carabao Cup first-round exit against Barnsley.
Leo Percovich had overseen first team affairs over the past two weeks, assisted by Craig Liddle, Mark Tinkler and Lee Cattermole, during which time Middlesbrough beat Birmingham, but then lost to Millwall and Blackburn.
If appointed, the job will be Carrick's first in a permanent management position. After retiring in 2018, he became part of the coaching staff at United, serving under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before departing Old Trafford upon Ralf Rangnick's arrival last December.
