MIDDLESBROUGH have confirmed Garry Monk as their new manager.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson narrowed his choice of potential bosses to a straight head-to-head between Monk and Nigel Pearson, with Steve Agnew having been overlooked after failing to keep the Teessiders in the Premier League during his 11-game stint at the helm at the end of last season.

A statement from the club reads: "Middlesbrough FC are delighted to confirm the appointment of Garry Monk as the club’s new manager.

"Garry will be officially unveiled at a media conference on Monday."

Gibson held face-to-face interviews with both Monk and Pearson in the last week, with both candidates providing a detailed analysis of their plans for next season’s Championship promotion push and their thoughts on the current backroom and academy set-up at Rockliffe Park.

Pearson had been regarded as a viable candidate, but Monk was understood to be Boro’s preferred choice and developments in the last 24 hours mean his appointment will be rubber-stamped later.

He is expected to sign a three-year contract and will add James Beattie to the coaching staff.

The former Swansea City and Leeds United boss has also held discussions with Sunderland and Hull City, and had been linked with the current vacancy at Crystal Palace. He would also have been a contender for a managerial role at Southampton if, as expected, Claude Puel was to lose his job in the next few days.

The number of options available to Monk complicated Boro’s managerial discussions, but having spent the last few days considering his options, the 38-year-old has made the Riverside his destination.

Monk was always a frontrunner in the race to succeed Aitor Karanka on a long-term basis, with Gibson known to be an admirer of his work at Swansea, where he guided the Welsh club to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League, and Leeds, where he narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs last season despite the ongoing off-field problems at Elland Road.

Monk is regarded as a progressive, innovative coach, whose sides play attractive, possession-based football, and his footballing philosophy was another factor in Gibson’s sustained pursuit of his services.

Former England international Beattie, who was his first-team coach at Leeds, is expected to be joined by goalkeeping coach Darryl Flavahan, who was also part of the backroom set-up at Leeds’ Thorp Arch training ground.

It remains to be seen whether there will be a coaching role for Agnew as part of the new set-up, but while Gibson has decided not to retain the former assistant in a head-coach role, he continues to admire his coaching capabilities.

Monk’s appointment as Boro boss will be a major blow to Sunderland, with Black Cats managing director Martin Bain having spoken to the former centre-half and his representatives in an attempt to persuade him to choose Wearside over Teesside.

Monk discussed a possible summer budget with the Sunderland chief, but appears to have concluded that Boro boast a better chance of making an instant return to the top-flight next season.     

Sunderland continue to hold an interest in Derek McInnes and Simon Grayson, although the process of appointing either figure would be complicated by their current employment at Aberdeen and Preston respectively.

The Black Cats would have to make a compensation payment to install either boss into the hot-seat at the Stadium of Light, whereas Monk would have been a free agent following his departure from Leeds.

Meanwhile, former Boro striker Alvaro Negredo has been linked with a possible £7m move to West Brom.

Negredo has returned to Valencia following the end of his loan spell at the Riverside, but his Spanish employers want to sell him permanently this summer as they look to raise funds to help address their ongoing financial problems.