Ipswich ‘granted permission’ by Man Utd to speak with McKenna

Lewis Oldham
Ipswich target McKenna

League One outfit Ipswich Town have been “granted permission” by Manchester United to speak with their assistant Kieran McKenna, according to reports.

McKenna was previously a coach at Tottenham Hotspur and he joined Man Utd in 2016. He was the manager of their under-18 side until 2018.

Along with Michael Carrick, the Northern Irishman has been an assistant at United under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.


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Carrick left the Red Devils after Solskjaer’s departure, but McKenna is still at the club.

He may not be there much longer though as Ipswich Town want him to become their new manager.

The Athletic are reporting that the League One side have been “granted permission” to speak with McKenna.

They state that “talks are ongoing” and that Ipswich are “closing in on his signature”. Paul Cook left the club earlier this month and they currently sit twelfth in League One.

Elsewhere, former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has suggested that Rangnick has the “same problem” at United as Solskjaer:

“Look at Ronaldo’s age and he is still the top scorer at United. But I don’t see him playing for a team that plays with high pressing and high intensity. And Cristiano wants to play every game.

“If not, he’s not happy, so I don’t know how he’s going to handle that. Solskjaer had the same problem with Cristiano. You would always welcome Cristiano to your team, but Solskjaer changed the way he wanted United to play, a lot.

“I don’t see Rangnick adapting for Cristiano. Cristiano will have to adapt to him. He looks like a big personality and I like that. Cristiano will want to work because he is the best in terms of his body and fitness in the football world, but still the age is there and he cannot change that.

“You cannot ask him to run for 90 minutes. He’s never done that. At Real Madrid, they knew that and they played for him. In Italy he can do that, because the teams are more defensive and you don’t have to press that high.

“The Premier League is different, it’s up and down all the time. I’m not sure about the signing of Cristiano and whether it was good or not.”