Ajax could consider Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, as they search for a new long-term manager this summer.
Journalist Henk Spaan claims that after reading about the Ipswich Town manager this week, he has been convinced of his worth.
Since joining Ipswich, who are presently leading the Championship standings and two points ahead of Leicester in third, McKenna is establishing a solid reputation for himself in the English league.
Since the Northern Ireland manager took over in December 2021, when the Tractor Boys were still in League One, the team has risen quickly.
They secured promotion back to the Championship the following season after finishing 11th in his first season in charge, and he has guided them to the top of the table in their first year back with a dynamic, attacking style of football.
He’s already been connected to transfers in England, where a number of teams interested in hiring him as a manager this season have at least expressed interest in speaking with him.
Furthermore, it appears that his work is being noticed outside of England as well; Spaan is certain that Ajax should be keeping an eye on him.
“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.”