Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna this summer. According to journalist Alan Nixon, Crystal Palace are pondering a summer move for Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna. Roy Hodgson agreed to stay at Selhurst Park this summer after keeping the Eagles in the Premier League last season, but the 76-year-old is largely expected to leave at the end of the season.
Nixon adds that the Palace is “already working on a plan for when the veteran boss leaves for the last time,” and McKenna is on that list.
McKenna has done an excellent job at Portman Road since his appointment in December 2021, leading the Tractor Boys to promotion from League One last season.
Ipswich have adapted seamlessly to life back in the Championship, and they currently sit in the automatic promotion places after picking up 22 points from their first nine league games.
McKenna is not the only name on Palace’s radar, with the Eagles said to be weighing up a move for Lille manager Paulo Fonseca.
Fonseca, who has previously managed the likes of Roma, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk, is reportedly keen to manage in the Premier League, and he is said to have been under consideration by Palace two years ago before the appointment of Patrick Vieira.
What is the latest on Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town future?
It could be tough for the Eagles to convince McKenna to depart Portman Road, with the 37-year-old having signed a new four-year contract to keep him in Suffolk until 2027 in June.
The Northern Irishman has previously been linked with Leicester City, Celtic and the Republic of Ireland national team job, and Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton revealed that there had been interest in McKenna prior to him committing his future to the club this summer.
McKenna has revealed his ambitions to manage at the highest level one day, but he hopes that will be with the Tractor Boys.
“I want to be back to that level – back to the Premier League and manage in the Champions League,” McKenna told The Telegraph last month.
“The ambition of the club is to get back to the Premier League as well so let’s hope that those two paths will cross at the same time.
“But beyond that I don’t plan too far ahead. It is my responsibility as a manager to pour all my commitment and energy into helping the club. From there the football will take care of itself and it will take you where it takes you.”
Would Crystal Palace benefit from hiring Kieran McKenna?
McKenna is a terrific choice for the Eagles.
He has established himself as one of the EFL’s best young managers, and he appears destined to manage in the Premier League in the near future, whether at Ipswich or elsewhere.
The Tractor Boys look to be serious automatic promotion contenders in the Championship after a great start to the season, and McKenna might fulfill his top tier managing aspirations at Portman Road.
If Ipswich are promoted, they have the financial wherewithal to compete in the Premier League, and it might be argued that a move to Selhurst Park would not be a progressive move for McKenna.
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