What Ashley Young has already said about Kieran McKenna explains exactly why he is close to surprise Ipswich transfer

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Ashley Young’s potential reunion with Kieran McKenna at Ipswich is hotting up as Tractor Boys beat Watford in their pursuit.

After suffering relegation to the Championship last season, Ipswich Town have had a rocky summer transfer window.

Liam Delap joined Chelsea from Ipswich in a £30m deal earlier in the summer, and more recently, Omari Hutchinson’s Brentford move fell through for financial reasons on the Bees’ end.

Despite this, Ipswich could soon have Ashley Young in their squad, a player Ipswich boss McKenna knows all too well.

Ashley Young praised ‘passionate’ Kieran McKenna

Back in 2024, when Manchester United were looking for an Erik ten Hag replacement, Kieran McKenna’s name was thrown into the ring.

And Ashley Young’s comments, which he shared with talkSPORT at the time, could confirm that his move to Ipswich could be a sure thing.

“Like you say, I worked with him at Manchester United and saw how much passion he’s got for football, the love he’s got for football and just how he wants to be successful,” Young said.

“So I, obviously having been linked with the jobs, Brighton, Manchester United, can he go to one of them now? I do think he can. He’s been at United as a coach; he knows the club. Can he go to Brighton? Yeah, he can.

“He’s seen as one of those managers. At Ipswich, they want to play football, they want to be expansive, they want to get on the front foot.

“He’s younger than me, he’s just one of those coaches who wants to be successful. He’s got everything there to be a successful manager, no disrespect to Ipswich, at a bigger club.”

McKenna worked as an academy coach at United before being promoted to a first-team role by Jose Mourinho in 2018.

He remained a member of the backroom staff under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick before taking the reins at Ipswich in 2021.

Why Ipswich aren’t a step down for Ashley Young

Ashley Young’s potential move to Ipswich, despite their recent relegation, is a testament to Kieran McKenna’s exceptional coaching expertise, not a step down.

McKenna’s outstanding achievement of guiding Ipswich to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League speaks volumes about his quality.

This feat alone, driving a team through two divisions in back-to-back seasons, is incredibly rare in modern football and highlights his impact.

The fact that top-flight clubs, including his former employer, Manchester United, were reportedly eyeing him for their managerial positions highlights his high standing in the coaching world.

McKenna’s teams play an attacking brand of football, as evidenced by Ipswich scoring 101 goals in their League One promotion season and 92 goals in their Championship promotion season.

His tactical knowledge and ability to improve players are evident in these impressive statistics. For a player of Young’s experience, the opportunity to work with a coach of McKenna’s calibre, even in the Championship, represents a chance to be part of an ambitious project.