McLaren to continue European education at Wolfsburg

The 49-year-old Yorkshireman agreed a deal to take over at the Volkswagen Arena last night and his appointment will be announced in the next few hours.

McClaren is currently on holiday after guiding FC Twente to the Dutch Eredivisie title as he continued his rehabilitation from the mauling he suffered in the wake of his departure from England.

But sources close to the former Middlesbrough boss have confirmed the deal is done and he will now further his continental education in the Bundesliga.

Wolfsburg finished only eighth this season a year after winning the title, and trailed champions Bayern Munich by 20 points.

McClaren launched his managerial career at the Riverside Stadium in 2001 after serving as a trusted lieutenant to Jim Smith at Derby and then Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, where he was part of the set-up which claimed an unprecedented treble, included the Champions League, in 1999.

He endured a tough start to life on Teesside, losing each of his first four games, but by the time he left five years later, he had brought the club their first major trophy, the 2004 Carling Cup, their highest Barclays Premier League finish - seventh - and taken them to the 2006 UEFA Cup final.

A 4-0 defeat by Sevilla in Eindhoven in that final proved to be his last game in charge when the Football Association appointed him as Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor in August 2006.

However, his reign lasted just 18 games and after a 3-2 Wembley defeat by Croatia ended England's hopes of reaching the finals of Euro 2008, he was relieved of his duties having famously been dubbed "the wally with the brolly".

McClaren was handed a chance to rebuild his career by Twente the following June having been advised by the late Sir Bobby Robson to gain experience abroad as he did, and has quietly and impressively done just that to the point that Wolfsburg were not his only suitors in recent weeks.

At Wolfsburg he will have the chance to work with the likes of Grafite and Edin Dzeko, whose goals took the Wolves to the 2009 title.

Coach Felix Magath moved on to Schalke immediately after that triumph and was replaced by Armin Veh, who was sacked in January because of Wolfsburg's disappointing form.

Lorenz-Gunther Kostner had been in charge since then in an interim capacity.