Ipswich Town boss  approached for a move to European top side

Ajax should consider Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna this summer while looking for a new long-term manager.

That’s according to journalist Henk Spaan, who appears to have bought into the notion of the Ipswich Town boss after reading about him this week.

McKenna is gaining recognition in the English game for his remarkable performance with Ipswich, who are presently top of the Championship standings, two points ahead of Leicester in third.

The Northern Ireland manager has led the Tractor Boys to quick success since his arrival in December 2021, when the club was still in League One.

They finished 11th in his first season in charge before being promoted back to the Championship the following season, and he has led them to the top of the table in their first year back with an exciting, aggressive style of play.

He has already been linked with a move to England, where numerous clubs have expressed an interest in speaking with him as they hunt for managers this season.

And it appears that his work is being noticed outside of England, as Spaan believes he should be on the radar at Ajax as well.

“This week I read about a trainer that no one knows, the one from Ipswich Town,” he said.

“Kieran McKenna is 37 years old and was a trainer and scout in the academies of, for example, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Manchester United.

“He is an excellent trainer who has already given Ipswich a much higher collective transfer value than expected. He was an assistant at Manchester United under Solskjaer, Mourinho, Carrick and Rangnick, before becoming head coach at Ipswich. He was promoted from the second to the first division and is still competing for a promotion spot to the Premier League.

“He plays attacking football and is not immediately concerned about conceding goals. This season he won twice with 4-3. This quote screams Ajax: ‘Few teams deliver the ball so quickly from the goalkeeper to the vanguard, while the opponent hunts for shadows.’

“A lot of video analysis is done during the week and McKenna is focused on the players’ individual progress. He plays with wings and a number ten.

“In a ranking of the average number of points won per match in the Championship and Premier League, he is third behind Guardiola and Arteta, but ahead of Klopp, Emery and Ten Hag. As a footballer he did not get further than the second team of Tottenham Hotspur.”