Kieran McKenna's Stance on Chelsea Interest Revealed Ahead of Crucial Ipswich Talks

Kieran McKenna is attracting interest from several Premier League clubs.

Kieran McKenna is unlikely to sign a new contract with Ipswich Town and is keen to move on amid interest from some of the Premier League's elite.

McKenna, 38, has established himself as one of the finest young managers in England after guiding Ipswich to successive promotions. As such, the Northern Irishman features prominently on the radar of several clubs searching for a new manager.

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Both Brighton and Chelsea are admirers of McKenna and have vacancies to fill. Meanwhile, Manchester United, where McKenna spent five years as a coach, are also believed to be courting the Ipswich chief, who was crowned LMA Manager of the Year on Tuesday night.

It emerged on Wednesday that the Ipswich hierarchy is preparing to offer McKenna a lucrative new contract to ward off interest from rival clubs. However, BBC Sport has revealed that McKenna is expected to reject such proposals.

The report outlines that McKenna has ambitions and is ready to take the next step in his career, indicating that he is likely to leave Portman Road if one of his suitors firms up their interest in the coming weeks.

Chelsea, who parted company with Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday, are reportedly 'in pole position' to land the sought-after coach, who would cost at least £4 million in compensation.

McKenna gave little away when asked about reports linking him with other clubs by Sky Sports at the LMA awards event. However, he did concede that such talk was unavoidable given Ipswich's ascent over the past two years.

He explained: “The club's got such a positive season and such a bright future ahead. We've achieved so much, it's been an incredible two years, and when you have those two years there's always speculation and things like that, there's been that every summer.”

“ But I know how much everyone's looking forward to the season, I know the club's in a fantastic path and everyone's just really looking forward to the season ahead. When you do well as a manager or as a player there's always going to be speculation, and I know what we've achieved isn't an ordinary thing, so of course there's going to be speculation then.

“But that's not where my focus is, to be honest. Tonight it's about what we've achieved last season, what we've achieved over the last couple of seasons, not just myself but everyone at the football club.

“It's been a wonderful couple of years, so tonight's about celebrating that. I know everyone's looking forward to next season and the club's going to be in a really good place going into that season.”

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