Leeds United promotion rivals see boss linked to Premier League job ahead of pivotal fixture

Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion have reportedly identified Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna as a potential candidate to replace Roberto De Zerbi this summer. De Zerbi has been linked with a number of jobs this season and while he is contracted until 2026, there is some doubt about whether he will opt to stay on at the Amex Stadium into next season.

As such, Brighton have been working behind the scenes to identify managers who could potentially replace the Italian this summer should he move on, and according to The Guardian, McKenna is one of those who fits the bill for the south coast club. The Ipswich boss has led the Tractor Boys to within just one point of promotion to the Premier League this season. Leeds United still have the chance to win automatic promotion, but following Tuesday's win over Coventry City at the CBS Arena, Ipswich are expected to get the job done when they take on Huddersfield Town at Portman Road on Saturday. Success would see them join Leicester City in the Premier League, but it would also ensure Ipswich secure successive promotions, having stepped up from League One just last season.

The remarkable job McKenna has done at Portman Road has not gone unnoticed and he has been linked with a number of jobs in the top fight as Premier League clubs continue to track his progress. The Northern Irishman was heavily linked with the Crystal Palace job before Oliver Glasner was selected to replace Roy Hodgson, and he has recently been touted as possible successor for David Moyes at West Ham United.

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Brighton aren't the only side keeping tabs on his progress then with the report claiming they could go for the Ipswich chief even if they somehow let promotion slip through their fingers. It is also noted that there is doubt about whether McKenna would even take the job on the south coast, should it be offered to him.

McKenna took over at Ipswich in December 2021 and in his first full season with the Tractor Boys, he led them back to the Championship after four years in the third tier. This season, the Suffolk outfit have spent all but one week outside the Championship's top four and led the way for periods of the campaign, too, with Ipswich's performance seeing McKenna named this season's Championship Manager of the Season by the EFL.

Having started his coaching career at Tottenham Hotspur, where he played as a youngster before having to retire through injury at the age of 22, McKenna joined Manchester United’s academy coaching staff in 2016. He worked his way up the ladder at Old Trafford to eventually work under Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in the Red Devils’ first-team set up. The job at Ipswich is his first in senior management.