McKenna Kieran
The 38-year-old became a sought-after player after achieving a second consecutive automatic promotion with Ipswich, who were 12th in League One when McKenna took over there in December 2021. This earned him the League Managers’ Association manager of the year title. Although McKenna has been linked to Chelsea and Manchester United, the biggest and wealthiest clubs in England have not previously appointed young, homegrown managers without top-flight experience, either as players or managers. McKenna worked as an assistant under José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and Ralf Rangnick before moving to Portman Road. Brighton, who’s also looking for a new manager, appear to be more conventional candidates.
Along with securing back-to-back promotions, Rob Edwards Edwards also managed to push the Hatters’ fight against relegation to the final weekend of this season. In 2022, he guided Forest Green Rovers to League One, and the following year, he led Luton to the Premier League, with an 11-game stint at trigger-happy Watford crammed in between. Given that the 41-year-old’s resume now shows a consistent history of overachievement, interest from smaller teams in the top flight or ambitious, upwardly mobile clubs in the second tier appears likely. He has been connected to Ipswich, should they find themselves without a manager before the new season begins.
Kompany Vincent
Another newly demoted coach could return to the top level, either in England or elsewhere, very quickly. Burnley, owned by Kompany, won the Championship in 2022–2023 and were promoted with a record seven games remaining. Although many predicted they would settle into the Premier League easily, they made strange additions to their roster and performed poorly, finishing in the bottom three in October and remaining there. Despite his struggles this season, Kompany has reportedly been in talks with Bayern Munich, indicating that he has vivid recollections of how his team dominated the Championship and how he performed for teams like Manchester City and Belgium.
Zerbi Roberto
After the German declared his intention to quit Liverpool, De Zerbi was one of the early favorites to succeed Jürgen Klopp. In March, after Brighton lost narrowly at Anfield, Klopp expressed his genuine admiration for De Zerbi, calling his work “turning the football world upside down.” After mutually agreeing to depart the Amex Stadium, De Zerbi’s employment prospects have since taken a turn for the worst, and he concludes the season without a job. The “contagious, total belief” that Brighton goalkeeping coach Jack Stern complimented him for in March may be a bit much, even though he plays exciting, attacking football. De Zerbi stated, “I aspire to work in the Premier League again,” although Milan is thought to be his next stop.
De Zebra’s former goalkeeping coach at Sassuolo, who recently led Nice to fifth place in Ligue 1 in his first season in France, is now being heavily linked to Francesco Farioli Brighton. Before a run of just one win in ten league games between February and April, a Champions League spot appeared to be within their grasp.
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