Town boss Kieran McKenna’s new Town contract is now expected to be confirmed on Wednesday due to hold-ups relating to the paperwork.

It’s understood the deal is agreed and it was anticipated that the 38-year-old’s new terms would be rubberstamped this afternoon and then announced soon afterwards. However, red tape understood to relate to legal aspects of the contract has delayed confirmation.

The Blues boss has been at Portman Road today with a photo of him playing football on the pitch this morning with his son having circulated on social media.

The Town manager’s future has been the subject of feverish speculation for the last 10 days with Brighton initially looking his likely destination before Chelsea and Manchester United also held talks with his representatives.

As reported on Wednesday, despite speaking to McKenna’s people, Leicester’s Enzo Maresca was always Chelsea’s top target and the Italian is now understood to be close to being appointed at Stamford Bridge.

The Red Devils, who beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, are set to hold an end-of-season review which mean their management situation - with Erik ten Hag currently still in charge - not likely to be settled for a little while yet.

Early last week, prior to Chelsea making their interest known, Brighton are understood to have thought the Blues boss was ready to join them.

As no progress was made in the following days and as the situation developed, we understand the Seagulls set a deadline of this Wednesday for the Northern Irishman to commit to a move to Sussex.

But, as was the case with Crystal Palace when they showed interest in February, a switch which it has now emerged came closer than appeared at the time, McKenna ultimately preferred to remain at Portman Road.

While the speculation regarding the other clubs continued apace, the Blues pulled out all the stops to try to keep hold of their manager with TWTD revealing on Friday that Ed Schwartz, the CEO of ORG, the US investment firm which manages funds on behalf of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), the club’s majority owner, flying over from the States to hold talks with CEO Mark Ashton and McKenna.

Those talks were evidently a success and once the new contract is confirmed, Town fans will be assured that they will have their talismanic boss still in charge when they make their return to the Premier League after 22 years away in August.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are reported to have taken the one-year option to extend former Blues loanee Omari Hutchinson’s contract to the summer of 2026.

The move was widely expected in order to either tie him to the West Londoners or secure as big a fee as possible should the 20-year-old be sold.

Town are very keen to bring the Jamaica international back to Portman Road either on loan or permanently for next season, while Bundesliga side Stuttgart are also interested but are unlikely to be the only other suitor with a number of Europe’s bigger clubs having taken notice of Hutchinson’s highly successful spell with the Blues.

Meanwhile, skipper Sam Morsy and central defender Elkan Baggott have been left out of the Egypt and Indonesia squads respectively for their June internationals.

Photo: TWTD

thundercat added 22:01 - May 28 I would think that his agent is causing these problems
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fifeblue added 22:06 - May 28 I do not believe for one moment that Brighton was ever his "likely destination". Neither was Crystal Palace. Ignoring the fact that they have both been the Premier League for several years, neither club is anywhere near the potential of Ipswich Town in every respect. Palace may do very well next season but only if they hold on to their star players (which is doubtful and would have been even with Kieran McKenna in charge): Olise, Eze, Guehi, Mateta and Wharton. The rest are very average but they have a very decent manager now. Brighton I feel could be in trouble and I can see them in a relegation fight; their form dipped badly towards the end of the season and now they have lost a good manager with nobody in sight to take over. Chelsea was never a serious option because of the nature of the job and Maresca is only going there because he knows it will be a major struggle to keep Leicester up next season with their inevitable points deduction looming. Mancheter United was also never realistic because they are going to take time to decide what to do with Ten Hag and the future of the club.

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Lord_Mac added 22:11 - May 28 @Berchules - we didn’t poach someone else’s manager, we gave him his first job as a football manager. Yes, he was head-hunted, but from a junior position. Yes, I have been head hunted more than once, but never on the wages that Kieran is on!! The only time I accepted, it turned out to be an absolute disaster!! I do hope that all the time Town is showing progression, he will see it through. If we are going to get this at the end of every season - or even mid-season - it’s not ideal.

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WhoisJimmyJuan added 22:29 - May 28 It's worth remembering that any club, including ours in the past, will show no loyalty to a manager when he is doing poorly. Do we have the right to demand loyalty from a manager only when he does well?
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Northstandveteran added 23:27 - May 28 Job accomplished by Kieron's agent. A new contract worth many more millions than his previous one with a nice fat percentage of that in their pocket. Just for driving to Manchester for a chat.
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Dobster72 added 23:33 - May 28 It’s really interesting that The Times reported today that “…..McKenna pulled out of the running [for the Chelsea job] and instead decided to sign a new deal at Ipswich Town, having also rejected the chance to take over at Brighton”. Seems like Kieran has actively chosen to stay with us, so Chelsea and Brighton had to look elsewhere. For the second season running this will be our biggest and most important signing of the summer. Fantastic news after a rollercoaster fortnight.

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KiwiBlue2 added 02:26 - May 29 This is great news and caps off the marvellous achievements of the past two seasons. KM's stocks are very high on the back of those achievements and it was no surprise that other clubs were taking notice and keen to talk to him. It is only reasonable that he/his agents listened to them. He also deserves a large pay rise and I hope that his salary is now at least circa 3 or 4x the 1.1m mentioned on here. When he signs, hopefully the next day or so, we can then get on with bringing a few players in and return to the level of stability that has been a hallmark of the current regime.... coyb

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KiwiBlue2 added 02:29 - May 29 I also think that we should give Kieran a belated birthday present and make a realistic bid(s) for Omari........
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Help added 06:43 - May 29 Kieran staying has just made national sport news on the BBC
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thundercat added 07:24 - May 29 Seems like he held a gun to their heads, give me what I want or I am off
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ArnieMsBigToe added 07:32 - May 29 I think Morgan Whittaker is a good shout. However, I do believe that Kieran and his scouts will have cast their nets far wider than anyone on here!! I am just going to wait and see. I did think I might bump in to KmcK at Lidl, but I think he maybe upgrading to Waitrose now. Good luck to him!!
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Gogs added 08:52 - May 29 I have it on pretty good authority that the delay is not so much to do with legal issues/ red tape etc., but more to do with a PR stunt, they’re going to be announcing it to a crowd at the Suffolk show today. It sounds plausible to me, and the person who told me isn’t the type to make things up. Still doesn’t necessarily mean it’s correct, mind
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dirtydingusmagee added 09:14 - May 29 i just hope the cleaners have found the pen so we can get this done and dusted .
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Rozeeboy74 added 09:21 - May 29 I'm glad Morsy is getting a rest this summer, but how is he not getting a call up?
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fifeblue added 10:14 - May 29 Gogs, if it is "on pretty good authority" then why "doesn’t necessarily mean it’s correct" ? On whose "pretty good authority" do you have it?
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dirtydingusmagee added 12:53 - May 29 what a pullover.
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petersongoal added 13:00 - May 29 Lets be real - he's a great manager. Great managers will always gain attention. We should be flattered that's the case. His agent has one job and that's to inflate his profile and his price as much as possible. Both Kieran and his agent have been doing a brilliant job and that's exactly what they get paid to do. Like it or not, this is the nature of the beast. What we should all be immensely pleased about is that Kieran has decided of his own accord to stay at Ipswich, which obviously means he's been offered a deal that he feels is fair and must be competitive with some of the biggest clubs in the country! On top of this, it speaks volumes that his contract has been matched by the commitment to the project, with facilities, a transfer war chest and a genuine intention to make a real attempt at competing next year - otherwise I think the likes of Brighton and Palace would have been much more appealing to him. Why would an manager with a rising stock struggle with a newly promoted side, when he could walk into a premier league mainstay? As Kieran has previously said himself; the project isn't finished yet! He clearly thinks there's more to be achieved here and, more to the point, he can see a genuine way of making that happen - how exciting is that!? So, let's all settle down, get back onboard the ship and go plunder these premier league waters together! There are bigger things to come! Uppa Towen!

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dirtydingusmagee added 14:28 - May 29 Tap tap tap. tap tap tap
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Gogs added 14:30 - May 29 Fifeblue the person who told me is good friends with a former player who still works for the club. Perhaps I should have said ‘uncertain authority’, ie I don’t *know* that it originated from the ex player, but from the conversation I had, I got the impression it most likely did. If it turns out to be wrong, then I highly doubt it did come from the ex player, but rather someone less well connected

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wewerefamous added 15:41 - May 29 3.40pm and still nothing…. That special contract ink takes forever to dry! Haha
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algarvefan added 15:52 - May 29 Like Diana Ross................. I'm still waiting. Please put us out of our misery!!!!
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thundercat added 17:14 - May 29 Delayed due to paperwork, must be one helluva contract, he will be tempted away at the end of next season. I thought that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread when he arrived and changed things around but after what's been going on I no longer trust him or his agents
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Rootshall91 added 17:17 - May 29 Doesn't look like its going to happen today does it?
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Tedray added 17:17 - May 29 Perhaps he has a long string of forenames
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backwaywhen added 17:35 - May 29 Thundercat ….what a ridiculous statement, give ya head a wobble !
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