Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday's rivals make surprise appointment amid fresh twist

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship rivals have made the strange decision to appoint a new first team assistant coach without having a manager in place. The Clarets lost Vincent Kompany following relegation to the Championship, with the Belgian deciding to take over at Bayern Munich - an opportunity he couldn’t refuse.

Burnley have struggled to find a new boss after that, with Ruud van Nistelrooy the favourite to take over as things stand. Bo Henriksen, Scott Parker and West Brom boss Carlos Corberan have been linked, as has assistant boss Craig Bellamy. But no one has been appointed just yet, with Henrik Jensen being appointed as an assistant in the meantime.

The 39-year-old has joined the Clarets from Kalmarr FF, but he does not yet know who his boss will be. The Swedish coach said of his appointment: “It’s been a dream for me to coach in England. English football has always fascinated me, so I’m thrilled to be here.

“I’m passionate about football. I’ve loved football from an early stage and started coaching from a young age, just 18 years old, so I’ve been coaching for 21 years now! A lot of coaching experience but also a lot of years ahead of me as a football coach and looking forward to contributing to Burnley FC.”

In the meantime, it’s still unclear what will happen with assistant Bellamy, who will now be one of the favourites to take the Wales national team job as he looks for his first job in senior management. Rob Page was sacked on Friday after three years in charge having failed to lead Wales to Euro 2024 qualification before overseeing two pretty disastrous friendlies this summer, albeit with a more inexperienced squad. One of those results was a 0-0 draw with Gibraltar.

Bellamy is one of the early favourites to replace Page - who spent three years of his playing career with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane before moving to Cardiff City - along with former assistant Osian Roberts and former boss Chris Coleman.

Bellamy said of the Wales job way back in 2017: “I'd always be interested in it, even now at this moment, of course I am. And looking further ahead I think I'd be interested in for the rest of my life. I'm passionately Welsh, it's the pinnacle for me, and I'd definitely be interested in that job. You're working with a group of players who are the most successful Welsh players in the history of Welsh football, getting to the semi-finals of a major competition.

"The group of players are there, the balance of the team, young players coming through, you need someone who has been involved in the set up for a number of years so you know who is coming through. Which I do! It's a good position. I'm sure there will be plenty of people interested in it, and rightly so, due to what the Welsh FA have in place at this moment and the group of players you have to work with."