Craig Counsell, the Mets’ top managerial candidate, is headed to New York Thursday for his interview with the team, The Post has learned.

New Mets baseball president David Stearns has targeted the accomplished Counsell, his only manager in Milwaukee, to replace Buck Showalter in the Mets dugout and Counsell has an interview scheduled with the team over the next day or two.

The Mets would be expected to be the highest bidder for Counsell, but they have to overcome the home-city advantage of Milwaukee, the city where Counsell was raised and resides.

Counsell, who interviewed with the Guardians earlier in the week, will have multiple offers as one of baseball’s best free agent managers in memory. The Brewers made Counsell an offer soon after their season ended with a Wild Card round defeat to the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks.

Counsell joined the Dodgers’ Dave Roberts as one of two managers to post 86-plus wins the past six full seasons (not counting the pandemic year of 2020).