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

Ipswich Town are close to appointing Gary O’Neil following Kieran McKenna’s surprise exit, a development of interest to Leeds United.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, talks have advanced between Ipswich and O’Neil, while Fabrizio Romano claims an agreement on terms is in place, with only formalities to follow.

Ipswich sealed automatic promotion from the Championship last season, finishing second behind Coventry City, their third rise in four years under McKenna. They will be among the early relegation favourites and a side Leeds will look to finish above.

McKenna left earlier this month to take a complete break from football, leaving Portman Road without a head coach at a pivotal time.

O’Neil has been in charge of RC Strasbourg since January. The Ligue one club lost Liam Rosenior to Chelsea, with both owned by the American consortium BlueCo, and recorded an eighth-place finish plus a Europa Conference League semi-final defeat.

He previously kept Bournemouth up in 2022/23 before being replaced by Andoni Iraola, then led Wolves to 14th in 2023/24 before being sacked that December after a defeat to Ipswich.

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

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk