Kieran McKenna to stay at Ipswich Town after interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton | Football news

Kieran McKenna is set to stay at Ipswich and sign a new long-term deal after attracting interest from Manchester United, Chelsea and Brighton.

The 38-year-old manager has guided Ipswich to back-to-back EFL promotions and a first Premier League campaign at Portman Road for 22 years, but there have been doubts over whether he will stay at the club next season.

Sky Sports News revealed McKenna was a contender for the vacant Brighton job following the departure of Roberto De Zerbi, while Man Utd officials met with the Ipswich boss’ representatives.

McKenna has also been linked with Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement at Chelsea but was told by phone on Sunday that the club were looking elsewhere.

Sky Sports News It also learned that Ipswich Town’s majority shareholder Ed Schwartz flew to the UK from the United States late last week to speak with the club’s chief executive Mark Ashton and McKenna. It is understood the talks were related to a proposed new deal.

And now speculation over the Ipswich boss’ future is set to end with McKenna poised to extend his stay at Portman Road in what would be a major boost for the newly promoted club.

Ipswich appointed McKenna in 2021 and in his first full season in charge he led Ipswich to promotion from League One to the Championship.

It was followed by a second successive promotion, with Ipswich relegated at the first attempt to reach the Premier League for the first time since 2002.

How McKenna got a double promotion

Sky Sports’ Adam Williams:

On 16 December 2021, Ipswich confirmed that Manchester United assistant manager McKenna, 35, had been appointed as their new manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

“Kieran who?” It was understandably most of the backlash beyond those perhaps unfamiliar with McKenna’s work under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford alongside Michael Carrick.

Soft-spoken at first but methodical, clear and honest in his media engagements, fans soon welcomed the departure from McKenna’s more reckless and sometimes overbearing predecessors.

Promotion would prove too difficult a task for the remainder of that season as Ipswich finished 11th, but McKenna already had his irons in the fire for his first full season in charge.

Freddie Ladapo, Dom Ball and Leif Davis would be the notable signings of the summer and it was clear from the start that the race to win League One that season would be hotly contested.

Plymouth set and maintained the pace while Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley tried to keep up.

After dropping to fourth with a goalless draw at Bristol Rovers on February 14, thoughts have understandably turned to another disappointing season, with Town eight points off the top two.

But the January transfer window has already seen four key additions in George Hirst, Harry Clarke, Massimo Luongo and Nathan Broadhead. They would prove pivotal as Ipswich won 13 of their remaining 15 league games, including eight in a row, to collect 98 points and automatic promotion back to the Championship after a four-year absence.

It felt good to be back in the second leg and at the start of this season many supporters were hoping to win more games than they lost and use it as a chance to continue to build on the good work of the last 18 months.

But 46 games later they are back at the top. A season of free-scoring, free-flowing, full-throttle football saw both Ipswich and McKenna in action.

Analysis: Why Ipswich’s McKenna is an in-demand manager

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