Former Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough and Barnsley man joins third club of season as appointment confirmed

The 43-year-old started the campaign at Barnsley, having reunited with his former Barnsley colleague Darrell Clarke.

His time at Oakwell was short-lived, as an opportunity to form part of Narcis Pelach’s coaching team at Stoke City arose.

Whitehead left the Potters following Pelach’s axing but has now landed another Championship role, joining Blackburn Rovers as Valerien Ismael’s assistant head coach.

The pair did not work at Barnsley at the same time, but do know each other well from spells together at Besiktas and Watford.

Ismael said: “Dean is a great guy, who I have worked with previously at Besiktas and Watford.

“He comes from football. He is a former player who had a big career and he brings a lot of experience.

“He is someone who understands about the culture and what every club is about. He knows English football perfectly, he knows the people, he has good connections and his expertise is very important to me.”

A tough-tackling midfielder in his playing days, Whitehead represented Oxford United, Stoke City and Sunderland before rounding off his career in Yorkshire with Middlesbrough and Huddersfield.

He hung up his boots in 2018, stepping into coaching with a role in Huddersfield’s youth system. A series of backroom roles across the pyramid followed, with Blackburn the latest club to turn to his expertise.

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