Ipswich Town ‘to appoint’ Gary O’Neil after Kieran McKenna exit | OneFootball

Ipswich Town, one of Leeds United’s 2026/27 Premier League rivals, are reportedly close to appointing Gary O’Neil after Kieran McKenna left earlier this month to take a break from football.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has reported progress in talks, while Fabrizio Romano said on Saturday morning that terms were agreed and only formalities remain.

Ipswich secured automatic promotion by finishing second behind Coventry City last season, their third rise in four years under McKenna. They struggled during their 2024/25 top-flight relegation and will take a second swing without their popular head coach. Ipswich are set to be among early relegation favourites and a side Leeds will look to finish above.

O’Neil has been in France since January with RC Strasbourg, appointed after the club lost Liam Rosenior to Chelsea, with both owned by American consortium BlueCo. Strasbourg managed only an eighth-place finish under him, alongside a Europa Conference League semi-final defeat.

In the Premier League he kept Bournemouth up in 2022/23 before being replaced by Andoni Iraola. At Wolves he oversaw a 14th-place finish in 2023/24, then was sacked the following December after a defeat to Ipswich.

O’Neil will have plenty of time to impose his style before Ipswich visit Elland Road on five December. The reverse at Portman Road is on one May, the fifth-to-last fixture for both clubs.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk