Could Chris Wilder switch Middlesbrough for Bournemouth?

In a surprise twist, Chris Wilder has emerged as the red-hot new favourite for the vacancy at Premier League club Bournemouth.

Caretaker Gary O'Neil had topped the next Bournemouth manager odds over the last few weeks following an impressive stint so far, during which he’s accumulated five points from an unbeaten three matches since the sacking of Scott Parker.

Former Burnley boss Sean Dyche, Luton’s Nathan Jones, and Kjetil Knutsen of Bodo/Glimt have all been linked, as has Marcelo Bielsa who was even hovering around the 5/1 mark on Sunday but has since drifted to 16/1 amid reports that he could become the new manager of Brazilian giants Santos.

However, it’s Middlesbrough’s Wilder who now leads the way after his odds were slashed from 25/1 to just 1/5 with BetVictor. He’s also now odds-on for the job with William Hill and Sky Bet.

Wilder famously propelled boyhood club Sheffield United from League One to 9th in the Premier League, having previously won promotions with former clubs Northampton, Oxford, and Alfreton Town.

He took charge of Middlesbrough just under a year ago in November 2021 following the exit of veteran boss Neil Warnock, taking Boro from 15th to 7th as they just missed out on the play-offs. They also reached the FA Cup quarter-finals after upsets over Man Utd and Spurs.

With a full pre-season under his belt and a hive of activity in the transfer window, many expected Wilder to go on and mount a promotion charge this season. But, it’s not yet gone to plan, with his troops struggling down in the relegation zone (22nd) with 10 points from 10 matches so far while only two second-tier teams have conceded more goals to date.

It’s fair to say there have been grumbles of discontent around Riverside, although Boro only find themselves five points off the top-6, so should they swat away the early cobwebs then they’ll soon find themselves in contention. After a two-week break, fans will be expecting a significant improvement, starting with three points away to basement club Coventry this weekend. 

The experienced Wilder will undoubtedly back himself to swat away the critics and steer his troops back up the table, although it will be interesting to see what happens if he’s offered a return to the Premier League with Bournemouth, who are 12th after seven games. 

Wilder was of course previously linked with Burnley, only to eventually come out and say: "I want to work in the Premier League and I want to work in the Premier League with Middlesbrough, that's the be all and end all. I think anybody who does anything at any trade wants to do it at the highest level.”

We’ll have to wait and see whether there’s anything concrete behind the sudden slicing of Wilder’s odds in the Bournemouth betting, but as they say, there’s no smoke without fire…