Chelsea TV presenter Jason Cundy has questioned the club’s pursuit of Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna.
Todd Boehly and his Clearlake consortium have embarked on the search for Mauricio Pochettino’s successor after they parted company with the Argentine earlier this week.
Despite ending the season with a flourish, Boehly and Chelsea’s key decision makers were unable to resolve their differences with Pochettino and an amicable parting was agreed.
Chelsea have subsequently been linked with a host of potential candidates to fill the void, but McKenna is quickly establishing himself as the frontrunner.
The 38-year-old was responsible for masterminding Ipswich’s promotion the Premier League having earned a reputation as one of the best young coaches in the game during his time at Manchester Untied.
Chelsea are likely to face competition for McKenna from United, should they sack Erik ten Hag after Saturday’s FA Cup final, while Brighton have also identified the Northern Irishman as a possible replacement for Roberto De Zerbi.
Despite his obvious credentials, Cundy fears a move to Chelsea at this stage of his career could prove too much for McKenna who would potentially suffer the same fate as Graham Potter who failed to last a full season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
‘It seems utterly ridiculous to think this time last year he’d only just managed in League One, this time last year he got Ipswich promoted from League One, now he’s being linked with Manchester United and Chelsea,’ Cundy told talkSPORT.
‘I thought Brighton were a big enough step for him to go, ‘yes, 100 per cent I’m going to leave’.
‘It looks like he’s not signing a new contract at Ipswich, at the moment he’s flavour of the month.
‘I’d find it a very, very strange appointment. I can’t sit here and say I’d be delighted because he’s an unknown quantity. He’s never managed a game in the Premier League.
‘Managing Ipswich… he’s done a remarkable job. Ipswich is a big club but it’s a big club in League One.
‘We’ve seen how [Graham] Potter kind of struggled with the step up. Watch this space.’
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