Steven Gerrard's former No 2 is lined up by Championship club after rejecting move to Turkey

Hull City are close to appointing Steven Gerrard’s former right-hand man Dean Holden as assistant manager after the Englishman turned down the chance to be the boss of Adana Demirspor in Turkey. 

Holden, who opened up candidly to Mail Sport in an interview earlier this year, wanted to return to England and is in advanced talks to be the No 2 to Sergej Jakirovic at the Tigers. 

Holden has recently had experiences as Gerrard’s assistant at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and spent time in Turkey. 

He was offered jobs at both English and United States clubs but is poised to go in at Championship side Hull. 

The 45-year-old enjoyed a lengthy playing career - which saw him suit up as a defender for the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic and Peterborough - before beginning his managerial journey.

Over 16 years, he made 369 league appearances across ten clubs, finishing his career with Walsall in 2014. 

Holden began his coaching career at Oldham, where he took on a short spell as manager in 2015. 

He later became assistant manager at Bristol City, eventually stepping up to the top job in 2020.

After leaving the club in early 2021, he joined Stoke City’s backroom staff and had a brief stint as caretaker boss. 

In late 2022, Holden took charge of Charlton Athletic before departing to work with Derek Chisora as an agency manager at OnlyFans.

He then joined Gerrard at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia in February 2024.

On his time in the Gulf nation, Holden said: 'Steven Gerrard sees the game differently, as his assistant I learned so much. 

'He empowered me to be creative and come up with ideas, to challenge him. He’s a really generous guy and I was grateful for the opportunity – I felt like I got five years of experience from him in a year.

‘In any other industry, you would pay for the experiences I had. If you were a doctor, you’d pay to go and observe the best brain surgeon in the world.'