Premier League Crystal Palace are reported to have been thwarted in an attempt to lure Town boss Kieran McKenna to Selhurst Park.

The Eagles, 15th in the top flight, are known to be long-time admirers of the Blues boss and, according to The Guardian, chairman Steve Parish has now spoken to McKenna’s representatives regarding the manager’s job at Palace.

However, it’s understood the 37-year-old isn’t willing to consider leaving Portman Road while the Blues are challenging for promotion to the Premier League, but with Palace said to be hopeful that he could take over at Selhurst Park at the end of the season.

The Northern Irishman, who took charge at Portman Road in December 2021, signed a new contract with Town which runs to the summer of 2027 in June last year and it’s believed any club looking to take him from Portman Road would be required to pay very significant compensation, as much as £4 million according to previous reports.

The Eagles still have Roy Hodgson in charge but their recent form - they’ve won two in 13 in the league - has led to continuing speculation that a change will be made with McKenna one bookmaker’s 7-4-on favourite to succeed the former England boss.

McKenna, who has also been mentioned in connection with the West Ham manager’s job, was quizzed on the Palace interest at last week’s press conference and insisted his concentration was on Town alone.

“My full focus, full commitment is with Ipswich and the season that we’re having and the next game ahead, so that’s where all my energy is and all my commitment is,” he said.

“I don’t pay any attention to it, to be honest. It’s not the first time in the last couple of years. If you’re doing well, it’s going to be there and there are going to be links.

“And football can work the other way pretty quickly as well. I’ll just focus on the day-to-day work here.

“As I’ve said before, I’m very proud and honoured to manage this football club and I’m enjoying doing so and will continue to do the best I can.”

Photo: Matchday Images

SamWhiteUK added 15:39 - Feb 13 I wouldn't call £4m "very significant compensation" for a premier league team, unfortunately. Glad they've been slapped back though.
26

BurleysGloryDays added 15:39 - Feb 13 We’ve got to make this the club he deeply believes in and wants to be at for years. To do that he needs total support (tick) a relentlessly noisy stadium (must improve) and to be shown the love (mostly tick). I’d be desperately disappointed if he left at end of season and fans need to remember the part they can play in keeping him
37

BurleysGloryDays added 15:40 - Feb 13 Agree Samwhite. Its nothing compared to the value he represents for us
19

Dissboyitfc added 15:40 - Feb 13 To be honest I don’t think he would for many jobs and the ones he would for wouldn’t take him at the as he is not ready for one of those top jobs! Can’t see him being a Lampard !
6

Vancouver_Blue added 15:42 - Feb 13 £4m is not significant in my opinion. Didn't he just sign a new deal. I would want at least £20m
19

hoppy added 15:48 - Feb 13 I wonder which word was chosen to use before ".... Off" - can't have been many options that would've been the correct one to use.
6

BlueandTruesince82 added 16:01 - Feb 13 Let's hope they decide to save themselves the 4 mil and get Cooper in
6

johnwarksshorts added 16:12 - Feb 13 I wish these stories would go away. McKennas got unfinished business here. I think he would love another promotion on his CV, and I hope that is with us to the premier league.
19

OldFart71 added 16:12 - Feb 13 Tbh 4 mill if true is an insult. The guy is destined for the very top. Would not surprise me if in a few years he was back at his old club Man Utd. He's tailor made for the job where he'd probably take his old buddy Michael Carrick as his assistant. Out of Palace and West Ham I think the hammers are a better proposition. But hopefully we can go on a run and get into the Premier League. If that happened then surely the only clubs McKenna would go for would be the big guns and not one's that would struggle to stay in the Prem.

9

Lightningboy added 16:16 - Feb 13 Would be a total step backwards for Kieran - not even a sideways one. Needs to stay put & build something special here over the next few years rather than turn into a jobbing manager - there's plenty of them on the Prem/Championship roundabout.
30

BlueWax added 16:17 - Feb 13 BGD totally agree. Anyone who may have an urge to boo at HT or FT please stay away and just attend pantomimes! We all need to be grateful what KMCK has done to date. Pretty clear that one day he will have his head turned and I get it, however, we must do everything we possibly can to keep him or we will be back in the doldrums again before we know it and wishing for sexy football!!!

18

Len_Brennan added 16:20 - Feb 13 Palace, West Ham & Brighton could all be looking for new managers at the end of the season; we would be incredibly arrogant/naive to think that none of those job would appeal to McKenna, in fact all 3 would if we were not to get promoted ourselves. I note his comment above - "My full focus, full commitment is with Ipswich and the season that we’re having ..." - and I 100% believe that he is committed to us until the end of this season, at least. But if a good Premier League club, with a structure & set of players capable of finishing in the top 8 or 10 already in place, came in for him in the summer, it's hard to see him turning it down in order to even try to replicate the amazing season we are having in the Championship. All 3 of those sides have a number of exceptional players in their squads & the financial power to add more £25m players to it; hard to turn down no matter how much respect he has for Ipswich. And if we get £4m in compensation, it's not as though he would owe us anything! Let's hope we push on & get up this season.

7

tractorboybig added 16:25 - Feb 13 lets face reality if this is not more fleet street crap, he will be going at the end of the season (
-4

RobITFC added 16:38 - Feb 13 Hopefully Palace are relegated and of course we go up!
8

fifeblue added 16:39 - Feb 13 Crystal Palace? Why would he go to a smaller club with no history of trophies and a history of sacking managers who do not deliver success in the short-term? It is ludicrous and Parrish is deluded if he thinks Kieran McKenna would go there.
10

GeoffSentence added 16:42 - Feb 13 Uh Oh! Unless we get promoted McKenna to Palace at the end of the season looks reasonably likely, and if he goes expect Leif to follow soon after.
-3

Suffolkboy added 16:45 - Feb 13 Blue wax, totally agree with the sentiments you present— BUT I don’t think K M will ever have his head turned ,not as such ! We have come across a genuine gent of principle ,standards and honesty who is unlikely to compromise his principles ; he leads from the front throughout his life and sets behavioural goals ! There’ll be no doubt proper clauses included in the contract between ITFC and KM , but honestly £4M ? — nowhere near enough for this exceptional talent ! I DO hope he’s thrilled with the achievements to date , the project he’s not only bought into,but helped enormously to create . The unfinished business and potential is terrific ! COYB

8

gosblue added 16:47 - Feb 13 # Kieran’s staying ten more years Ipswich boys are on the beers #
1

terryf added 16:55 - Feb 13 Yes we all know that money talks but I agree with DissBoy that it would take the right Club to turn McKenna's head. I really do believe that he loves everything about this Club and sees his appointment as a long term project building season upon season. If anything our achievements so far this season have probably exceeded his expectations. Bobby Robson was with us for 14 years until England lured him away and there were plenty of suitors during his stay with us, so why not McKenna??

12

Linkboy13 added 16:57 - Feb 13 Spot on Len Brennan some of the numpty heads on here can't face reality. They are probably the same people who will be booing him if things started to go wrong. All managers and players are ambitious but some owners aren't at the moment McKenna's doing a fantastic job on a very small budget by championship standards. In the summer McKenna might think with the resources at his disposal that he's taken the club as far as he can over to you game changer.

1

Terrystowel added 16:59 - Feb 13 Why on earth would he want to go to a little club like Palace? Time to worry is if we don't go up and a bigger name Premier team come calling.
5

IpswichT62OldBoy added 17:00 - Feb 13 This is I know a tautology but half the clubs in the Premiership are only "bigger" than us because hey are in the Premiership, on any other metric we are a big club, big history, big fan base, big future. He will stay.
9

OliveR16 added 17:00 - Feb 13 West Ham would be a significantly bigger threat. He wouldn't necessarily need to move house and crowds of 60K
2

Lord_Mac added 17:07 - Feb 13 McK has also said he doesn't want to disrupt his kids' schooling, and one way to do that is not to join a club and be sacked in six months' time. I think he will stay for one more season at least, even if we don't go up. The spending limits are not down to Gamechanger, but down to Financial Fair Play rules (FFP) - this give the relegated clubs with parachute payments an unfair advantage on all the other clubs and rewards them for failure. If there were no parachute payments we'd be leading this division by a street.

9

PhuketPete added 17:14 - Feb 13 This entire topic is boring and by talking about it we simply give O2 to to the media pundits who write this drivel. We’d all be better off doing as KMcK says and staying focused on the next game.imho
2

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