Middlesbrough facing same Danny Rohl problem that Southampton had as Irish manager emerges as contender | OneFootball

The Sheffield Wednesday boss is a top target for Boro, but there is a road block in the way of a pursuit

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is on the radar of Middlesbrough in their hunt for a new manager, but his compensation clause is putting the Teessiders off making a move for the German.

Boro dispensed of the services of Michael Carrick on Wednesday after two years and seven months in the job at the Riverside Stadium, having once again missed out on the Championship play-offs in 2024-25.

A whole host of names have already been linked with the hot-seat, and they include a previous assistant manager at the club, as well as the boss of a Championship rival.

Middlesbrough like Danny Rohl but compensation issue emerges - Southampton had similar

According to talkSPORT's Alex Crook, one of the managers that is on the radar of the Middlesbrough hierarchy is that of Danny Rohl, who is certainly angling for an exit from crisis club Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

The 35-year-old has been linked with the likes of Leicester City, Werder Bremen and Southampton this summer, but as the Saints found out, they struggled to get Rohl away from Hillsborough due to the size of the release clause within his Owls contract.

As per Crook, that is also a problem that Boro are having to deal with if they want to hire Rohl, and it is at the moment putting them off from making a move for the former Bayern Munich first-team coach.

Robbie Keane on Middlesbrough's radar - he was previously an assistant to Jonathan Woodgate

There are alternative managers that Boro are said to be looking into - and they include Robbie Keane, who has already worked at the club in the past.

The 44-year-old was previously the right-hand man of Jonathan Woodgate for the 2019-20 season, although he left after just one year in the job, but he has since won league titles in two different countries as a manager.

Keane led Maccabi Tel-Aviv to Israeli Premier League success in 2024, and after being hired by Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros in January, the Irishman also won their top tier domestic league - the Nemzeti Bajnokság I - going on a 13-match unbeaten run to end the campaign and triumphing over Puskás Akadémia by three points.

Still under contract to the Eastern European outfit, Keane is said to have emerged as a candidate for the job, as per Crook, but so are ex-Luton Town boss Rob Edwards, who struggled with the Hatters upon their return to the Championship last season, and current Sweden boss Jon Dahl Tomasson, who was previously in England with Blackburn Rovers.

Middlesbrough shouldn't be afraid of splashing the cash on Danny Rohl over going for Robbie Keane

It appears already that the interest in Keane is dividing the opinion of the Boro fanbase, and whilst you cannot argue with two league title wins in his short managerial career already, they are leagues that quality-wise do not stack up with the Championship on paper.

Keane was also part of a management team with Woodgate that flopped at Boro already, so that would be somewhat of a red flag you'd feel - Steve Gibson should really be thinking therefore that the money they'd need to pay to get Danny Rohl out of Sheffield Wednesday may be worth it.

The German has gone from strength to strength at Wednesday, with a squad that on paper is probably worse than the 12th-place they finished in 2024-25, and that has only bolstered his credentials, and the fact that he also is seeking an exit route from the club should also push Gibson in that direction.