Kieran McKenna has led Ipswich Town to the Championship's automatic promotion spots

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna could return to Manchester United in a managerial role in the future. That’s according to Chris Sutton, who has hailed the work McKenna has done at Portman Road since leaving Old Trafford to take over at Ipswich back in 2021.

McKenna led the Tractor Boys to League One promotion last season and they have continued their superb form to take the Championship by storm this time around.

The Suffolk outfit have lost just three games all season, two of which have come against Leeds United, and they currently sit second in the table, three points above chasers Southampton and seven ahead of the Whites.

As such, despite hitting a rough patch of form over the festive period, they are in a very strong position to launch a push for successive promotions in the second half of the campaign. McKenna’s work, then, transforming Ipswich from League One also-rans to Championship challengers, hasn’t gone unnoticed and Sutton believes it won’t be long before he begins to be linked with jobs in the top flight.

"I’m a Norwich fan, but there’s a begrudging admiration for the job he’s done," Sutton told the It’s All Kicking Off Podcast. "Promoted last season, they’ve been flying this season, but they may be lucky to hang onto him because bigger clubs may be looking and thinking they want a piece of him. He could be back there [at Man United] one day, he could be back there."

Leeds fans will hoping Ipswich’s festive troubles, going five without a win and losing 4-0 at Elland Road, continue into the New Year as the promotion race heats up. But, the club’s recent form certainly shouldn’t take anything away from the job McKenna has done at Portman Road.

McKenna spent five years at Old Trafford before stepping into management, taking charge of the Red Devils’ U18s before working as an assistant under the likes of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.