Town boss Kieran McKenna’s new contract is still with the lawyers and confirmation of the new deal is now expected to be confirmed on Thursday.

It’s understood there’s no panic with the long-term, more lucrative deal agreed, but with legal teams continuing to work through the fine detail.

The Blues boss was at Portman Road yesterday with a photo of him playing football on the pitch with his son having circulated on social media but is now believed to have gone abroad.

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

As reported last 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.

Photo: Matchday Images

boroughblue added 19:10 - May 29 At least I know not to stay up late waiting for it tonight! Twitter admin best be cooking up one hell of an announcement video with all this waiting!
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Tommy_ITFC added 19:12 - May 29 announcement now expected friday
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Sir_Monte_Carlo added 19:15 - May 29 One more sleep.
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ScottCandage added 19:16 - May 29 The longer he remains unsigned, the less secure I feel. ManU could complete their "root and branch" at any minute, and all of a sudden, the ManU job is available...
1

victorysquad added 19:18 - May 29 Hopefully the Lawyers on both sides are being pragmatic to ensure a successful outcome. Paying such a decent package, ITFC + ORG are no doubt going to want some assurances the next time a club comes knocking, we don't go into the same state as we have the last 2 weeks. Similarly, I am sure CAA Base are ensuring their client gets the best possible outcome too, but with all these things, a bit of common sense and going for the middle ground sometimes is needed (if they are getting bogged down on certain clauses).

1

FromIpswichToPhoenix added 19:18 - May 29 In the meantime, for our entertainment, "Announcement bingo". "it is understood" "according to sources" "insiders are reporting" "is now expected" "...understands" "Chelsea are understood" "Brighton are understood" "Man United are understood" "Accrington Stanely are understood " "Chelsea are believed" "emerged as the early favourite" "according to the Sun" "The Daily Mail is reporting" "according to the Evening Standard" "the Manchester Evening News claims"

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Kickingblock added 19:21 - May 29 Relax ...... Stop getting yourselves all worked up. Good things come to those that wait!
4

muhrensleftfoot added 19:28 - May 29 Lawyers doing what Lawyers do. Drag it out as long as possible to increase their fees.
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atty added 19:29 - May 29 Thanks Phil. First there as usual.
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mickcosh added 19:34 - May 29 I like they tell not to worry. Then say we didn’t know how close we were to losing KM lasted transfer window. So hopefully only one more sleep less night
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Gforce added 19:42 - May 29 It'll be Friday then.
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cfmoses added 19:53 - May 29 Getting just a little bit silly now.
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Gforce added 19:54 - May 29 On another note,when is the club going to announce who is being released and who have got the thumbs up to stay. We seem to be taking much longer to make a decision than previous seasons.
6

CaseyJones added 19:56 - May 29 Hope he hasn’t gone to Salford for his holidays !
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CaseyJones added 19:56 - May 29 Hope he hasn’t gone to Salford for his holidays !
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blues1 added 19:56 - May 29 Omg. Some of the reactions on here? Read the story and then start to panic. Why? The deal is agreed. No,doubt, Mckenna,has actually signed, with him having now gone abroad. Purely the lawyers dragging their heels.
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NorthLondonBlue2 added 20:03 - May 29 Ok, as a lawyer albeit not in contract law, I can say confidently that nothing will have been signed until the terms and conditions, rights and bonuses etc have been agreed. I imagine the new draft contract was probably drawn up in the scramble to see off interest elsewhere. So McKenna’s legal team needed time to go through it, highlighting issues that need clarification etc. With so much money now at stake and time pressure all being on the club, not McKenna, it makes sense that this is taking longer than usual, however frustrating that is for everyone else.

2

parhamblue added 20:03 - May 29 Where is Mr John when you need him.
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thundercat added 20:04 - May 29 They should have let him go and replaced him with someone who wants to be here, as far as I am concerned he is a tainted manager. All that rubbish while on the bus after promotion about how he likes it at ITFC while his representatives were touting his availability to anyone who was interested. Did the response from town supporters impress him, no it didn't
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JewellintheTown added 20:06 - May 29 Apparently KMs gone abroad to Stuttgart & taken Fabio Wardley with him muttering something about Omari.
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FromIpswichToPhoenix added 20:19 - May 29 All jokes about bingo aside, I disagree with those questioning McKenna's loyalty to the club. When they last reviewed his contract, we had just gotten into the Championship. I'm sure there could be a promotion clause in there. We're now Premier League and we need to revisit his contract. I would not be surprised if Ashton encouraged McKenna to talk to other clubs to see what they could offer so that Town could make an acceptable counteroffer. He needs to be paid his worth and his value has increased significantly in the past year. He wants to be paid fairly and we want to pay him fairly. I don't see this as a loyalty issue.

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IndependentlyBlue added 20:23 - May 29 Question for Thundercat. How do you know his representatives were touting his availability to anyone? Makes more sense that other clubs approached his representatives and those representatives wanted to see what was being offered, which is their job after all. When all is said and done he’s still here so maybe he does like it here after all, just like he said he did.

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Phil1969 added 20:31 - May 29 Personally I would move on McK is class but defensively we are shxt and Prem is a big step. Need a more seasoned manger who can shut up shop. Not sure what the other McC is doing ?
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FreddySteady added 20:40 - May 29 Is there still white wine in the boardroom?
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blueboyd added 20:47 - May 29 It is a shame we will have a manager who has spoken to other clubs about becoming their manager, it has tainted him and it is perfectly OK to think this.
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