Ipswich Town told to break the bank for Kieran McKenna amid Chelsea and Brighton interest | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

The 38-year-old has earned a lot of praise for his role in the Tractor Boys’ remarkable rise to the Premier League, overseeing back-to-back promotions.

This has led to speculation linking him with the vacancies at Brighton and Chelsea, with both top flight sides searching for a new manager.

Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino have both departed at the end of the campaign, with Manchester United also being linked with the Ipswich boss.

However, it has been reported that the Suffolk outfit have offered McKenna a new deal with a huge pay increase to try and tempt him to stay at Portman Road to the tune of around £100,000 a week.

Ipswich fan pundit gives Kieran McKenna future verdict

FLW’s Ipswich fan pundit Henry believes that a club the size of Chelsea could be tempting for McKenna as the opportunity may not arise to manage them again.

However, he is optimistic that a deal can be struck to keep the Northern Irishman for at least another season.

“With De Zerbi and Pochettino now being removed from Brighton and Chelsea, links are quite heavy with McKenna,”Henry told Football League World.

“Since previous stories linking McKenna to the Palace job, for example, I did draw upon that a big side or Brighton would be the two types of clubs that I would be worried about.

“I think, at the moment, since we got promoted, I’ve got a feeling that McKenna will stay for at least this season.

“It’s tough because you can see, maybe in his mind, he doesn’t know when an opportunity like this will come up for, say, Chelsea.

“But I think going to Chelsea is a risk, knowing what happens at Chelsea and knowing what happens with their managers.

“Pochettino won five on the bounce and has been sacked, and it looks like the players were still keen on him staying. “Brighton obviously had a great season last year, Europa League and injuries I think really cost them this season and De Zerbi has moved on.

“It does look like Farioli is the next in line with the bookies, but I think McKenna is more likely to be turned by a Chelsea, but I think [Ipswich CEO Mark] Ashton’s smart enough to keep Kieran at least minimum one more year.

“Offer him another contract this summer, bigger release clause, bigger pay, and then see where we end up next year or end of the season.”

Kieran McKenna’s future will be key to Ipswich Town's Premier League survival hopes

Replacing McKenna this summer would be an impossible task for Ipswich CEO Ashton, as he has completely transformed the club in such a short space of time.

The coach has been crucial to their rise, and will be instrumental to their hopes of remaining in the Premier League.

A new contract with a bigger pay might be enough to tempt him to stay for now, but clubs the size of Chelsea or Man United might not come knocking in the future, so it could well not be enough.

Keeping McKenna would be a huge win to the start of their summer plans, so this uncertainty must be very concerning for supporters.