Ipswich Town: Choices of former Chelsea boss should help Kieran McKenna with Brighton decision – View
The Northern Irishman needs to look at the mistakes of others before making next career step
Tempting Premier League offers force Kieran McKenna to make crucial career choice amidst Ipswich Town success. Bright spotlight on Ipswich manager as rumors swirl about potential moves to clubs like Brighton, Man United, Chelsea. Ipswich boss McKenna urged to heed Graham Potter’s cautionary tale before considering jump elsewhere in the Premier League.
Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna has a big few weeks and months ahead of him, in which he will need to decide where his short-term future lies, at least.
The 37-year-old has received plenty of attention off the back of winning successive promotions with the Tractor Boys, taking them from League One to the Premier League in the quickest way possible.
It was a feat that few expected to happen, unless you listen to people from within the club. Striker George Hirst told Sky Sports, after the final game of the season – a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town which clinched Ipswich’s spot in the top flight for the 2024/25 campaign – that he knew that this was possible from the get-go.
The back-to-back second place finishes has brought the brightest of spotlights onto the club, and, concerningly for them, their manager.
McKenna has been linked with Premier League jobs in the past, but now the real pursuit of him by some of the top teams in England is underway.
In this time of uncertainty and temptation, McKenna should look at what former Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea boss Graham Potter did, and use it to help him decide what his next move should be.
Brighton, Manchester United and Chelsea’s interest in Kieran McKenna
The rumour mill really started turning once Roberto de Zerbi, Brighton’s manager, was announced to be leaving the club at the end of the season. That was the first domino to fall.
This started the noise about their interest in McKenna, who, within an hour of the de Zerbi news, was being linked with taking over at the Amex Stadium.
Journalist Alan Nixon recently stated that Brighton’s interest in the Northern Irishman stems back six months, and that he had been picked out as their top option, if their now former Italian boss were to leave.
Two other big English clubs, Manchester United and Chelsea, who haven’t yet lost their bosses but could look to make a change, are also said to hold an interest in McKenna. He worked for United before joining Ipswich in the middle of the 21/22 campaign.
If any team does want to get him, they will need to pay Town £6 million in compensation fees, as per Nixon.
