BREAKING NEWS: Coming live from sky sports, Manchester United have reportedly agreed terms with Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna as he sets to become head coach of Manchester United. According to Sky Sports News, McKenna met with United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox last week to discuss the managerial role at Old Trafford and it has been confirmed that a deal has been agreed on both sides. pressure grows on Erik ten Hag as Red Devils beats Premier League rivals to sign the in-demand head coach.
Manchester United have reportedly initiated discussions with representatives of Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.
McKenna, previously a coach for United’s Under-18 team, is recognized as one of the most promising young managers in English football, having secured consecutive promotions with Ipswich.
The 38-year-old has recently been associated with potential moves to Premier League clubs Chelsea and Brighton, but it has now surfaced that United have already engaged in talks with him.
Sky Sports News reports that McKenna’s representatives met with United’s chief executive Omar Berrada and the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox last week to discuss the managerial position at Old Trafford.
These developments come as current manager Erik ten Hag faces increasing scrutiny after leading United to their worst-ever Premier League finish.
Despite the speculation about his job security, Ten Hag remains focused on the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday. At a recent press conference, he emphasized his commitment to the task at hand: ‘I am just focusing on the job I have to do and that is, first, win the game on Saturday and then we are in the project and keep going in the project. Until Saturday I only think about this game. It’s all about trophies but you need an opportunity to win a trophy. So last 10 years, not so many trophies in this club but we have an opportunity to win two trophies in two years. I came here to win trophies. Saturday I have the next opportunity and we achieved this. We earned this opportunity as a team and now we have to go for it. At the same time in the last two years, of course every season you review it and then we will see where we are in the project and the things that we have to change’.
McKenna, meanwhile, is under contract at Ipswich until 2027, with a compensation fee of between £4 million and £6 million needed to release him from his current deal.
He has been managing Ipswich since December 2021, taking over when the team was 12th in League One. In his first season, he led them to an 11th-place finish, and since then, he has orchestrated two successive promotions, significantly boosting fan attendance at Portman Road.
McKenna’s success at Ipswich has led to him being closely linked with the recently vacant managerial roles at Chelsea and Brighton.
There were recent reports suggesting that Brighton was hopeful of securing McKenna ahead of Chelsea, owned by Todd Boehly, who have just parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino. Additionally, Roberto De Zerbi announced earlier this month that he would be leaving Brighton.
McKenna’s previous stint at United saw him working as the U18 coach before being promoted to assistant manager under Jose Mourinho. He continued in his role even after Mourinho’s departure until he joined Ipswich in 2021.