Paul Heckingbottom has been touted as one of three early front-runners to manage Sheffield Wednesday as their hunt for a new manager begins.

The Owls took the decision to sack Henrik Pedersen yesterday following a South Yorkshire derby loss to Doncaster Rovers, and according to Rob Staton of BBC Radio Sheffield, the club are ‘moving swiftly’ to find the Dane’s replacement.

Blades Man Tipped For Steel City Switch

Names have already begun to come to the fore for the new vacancy at Hillsborough, and according to GiveMeSport, three candidates have already been revealed in the form of Dave Challinor, Dean Holden and Paul Heckingbottom.

Challinor has been a long-linked figure to manage the Owls, with reports earlier in the season from Alan Nixon suggesting that he was waiting for the opportunity at Wednesday to come up before making his return to management.

However, a more shock name comes in the form of Heckingbottom, who has been out of work since his sacking at Preston North End earlier this season.

The 49-year-old has been touted for other roles in League One after exiting Deepdale, with it being suggested that he had withdrawn himself from the race to manage Bradford City earlier this month.

Having managed Wednesday’s arch rivals in Sheffield United for two years, Heckingbottom has prior experience lifting sides out of the third tier, doing so with Barnsley in 2016, a season which also saw the Tykes lift the EFL Trophy.

Holden is currently working under Sergej Jakirovic at Hull City, helping the Tigers break into the Premier League in his debut season as assistant and he played a role in their impressive early-season start which saw them beat Manchester United and draw four of their opening eight games.

Is Heckingbottom The Right Man For The Role?

Given the controversy a cross-city move might cause in Sheffield, there is no doubt that Paul Heckingbottom is a standout candidate for Sheffield Wednesday to approach in this search for a new boss.

Perhaps some of the reason behind Henrik Pedersen’s removal at Hillsborough was down to the fact he had taken the club as far as he could, and only adding a new coach could lift them to a place in the Championship.

With his prior experience in both the second tier and the Premier League, Heckingbottom is surely an ideal man to do just that, but whether his style pairs with the promising attacking threat at the Owls’ disposal currently is another question.

A contest with Dave Challinor, another worthy candidate to put into the hot seat, is certainly brewing, but it may not be long before one emerges as the preferred choice form David Storch to clinch a promotion in Aspire’s first full season in charge.