Manchester United Face Stiff Premier League Competition For ‘Sensational’ Manager

Manchester United ended the 2023/24 Premier League season with an eighth-place finish, their worst-ever finish in a single campaign in the division. There is still uncertainty over the future of Erik ten Hag and now an interesting update has dropped about the club’s interest in a potential replacement in Kieran McKenna.

Manchester United Make Contact With Kieran McKenna

Which Clubs Are Interested In McKenna’s Services?

The Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst reports that the Red Devils are among the clubs to have expressed an interest in the Ipswich Town manager after seeing him guide them back to the Premier League. The journalist adds that both United and Chelsea have contacted the representatives of the 38-year-old over his opinion on potentially taking over as the club’s head coach.

It’s added that the Red Devils have only made an enquiry over whether McKenna would be open to taking over the managerial role if Ten Hag is sacked. The Englishman is currently contracted to Ipswich Town until 2025, which could make it relatively easier for a Premier League side to take him away from them if needed. Luckhurst also adds that they are yet to make a definitive decision on the future of their manager and are fully focused on the upcoming FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Why Is McKenna Getting So Much Attention From United?

Luckhurst claims that despite the interest from United, the 38-year-old has emerged as the candidate to take over the Brighton & Hove Albion head coach role after Roberto de Zerbi left the club. McKenna, however, has a lot of experience having coached at Old Trafford in the past in an assistant coaching role.

Indeed, the Englishman joined the Red Devils in 2016 as an academy coach before Jose Mourinho promoted him to his coaching staff in 2018. McKenna worked in the three years as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s staff too and then a short while under Ralf Rangnick before taking over the Ipswich Town job in 2021. Since then, the 38-year-old has helped promote Ipswich from League One to the Premier League in under three years. He has been hailed as “sensational” for promoting the side to the top division, but it remains to be seen if he stays in their hot seat for the 2024/25 season.