Middlesbrough have entered the race for Hammarby head coach Kim Hellberg, casting doubt over a possible move to Swansea City. The 37-year-old travelled to London late last week for discussions with Swansea’s hierarchy, but Boro are now actively pursuing him. Hellberg is widely regarded as one of Scandinavia’s most promising young coaches.
Swansea had made Hellberg their top target after parting company with Alan Sheehan and had been in contact with him prior to appointing Sheehan on an interim basis. Several Championship clubs are searching for a new head coach — Norwich, Southampton and Middlesbrough are among them — following recent departures; Middlesbrough notably lost Rob Edwards to Wolves last week.
Hammarby allowed Hellberg to travel to the UK for talks and have since offered him a new contract in an effort to keep him at the Stockholm club. Norwich also held brief discussions with Hellberg. He currently has one year remaining on his deal at Hammarby.
At Middlesbrough, Adi Viveash is serving as interim manager and is preparing the squad for Saturday’s Championship fixture against Oxford.
Sky Sports News analyst Lyall Thomas says Hellberg’s stock has risen in England after guiding Hammarby to second place in the Allsvenskan in 2025. He has earned praise for developing young players who have been sold on for profit and for implementing an attacking style of play: Hammarby scored the most goals in the Allsvenskan last season (60) and registered the highest expected goals for (xGF) in the division, averaging 1.97 per game. Hammarby will contest a Champions League qualifying tie next season, though there is uncertainty over whether Hellberg will remain in charge to lead them into European competition.