Chelsea are prepared to pay the wage demands of a “brilliant” manager on their shortlist.
The speculation in the media is intensifying as Chelsea go in search of their next head coach following the end-of-season exit from Mauricio Pochettino.
For the Blues, it’ll be a fourth full-time manager at Stamford Bridge in just two years of this ownership group.
The Telegraph claims that Chelsea are now looking at a four-man managerial shortlist that includes Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, Brentford’s Thomas Frank, plus a fourth unknown name.
Chelsea prepared to pay for 38-year-old manager
The Times now reports that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna is at the centre of a tug of war this summer between Chelsea, Manchester United and Brighton.
It is explained that rivals Chelsea and Brighton are willing to met the manager’s demands.
Also, there’s a £6m compensation fee that they both would have to cough up for the highly-rated Northern Irish coach.
Previously, The Times said that Brighton have confidence they can nudge Chelsea aside by winning the race to appoint McKenna this summer.
Kieran McKenna tipped for big things
McKenna’s just achieved back-to-back promotions as Ipswich manager from League One to the Premier League, which has now resulted in the young coach receiving links to big sides in the top division.
Speaking last September, Gary Lineker picked out the 38-year-old manager when asked for the best up and coming coach outside of the Premier League.
Lineker said on The Rest Is Football Podcast: “I’m going to go with Kieran McKenna from Ipswich Town. I think he’s done a brilliant job with them. He’s young, he was a youth coach at Manchester United, and was at Tottenham a bit before that.”
McKenna has led Ipswich back to the Premier League for the first time since 2002, but will he jump ship this summer to an interested suitor?