{"id":632479,"date":"2026-06-11T05:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/632479\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T05:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T05:19:20","slug":"fulham-hold-talks-with-former-real-madrid-boss-and-eye-frank-lampard-and-ruben-amorim-after-kieran-mckenna-ruled-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/632479\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulham hold talks with former Real Madrid boss and eye Frank Lampard and Ruben Amorim after Kieran McKenna ruled out"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fulham have held talks with former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa over their vacant manager’s job, talkSPORT understands. <\/p>\n

The west London clubs are also considering moves for Frank Lampard<\/a> and Ruben Amorim<\/a> having been forced to rethink their recruitment strategy despite previous favourite Kieran McKenna announcing his resignation as Ipswich Town boss.<\/p>\n

\"Real<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Arbeloa has emerged as an unlikely contender for the Fulham jobCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The 40-year-old had been heavily linked with the Fulham job, however, he says he’s taking a break from football management altogether.<\/p>\n

And Fulham have shown plenty of ambition despite suffering the McKenna setback having met with Arbeloa, who has been out of work for just a day. <\/p>\n

The former Liverpool<\/a> and Spain defender, who stepped in as Real Madrid interim boss after Xabi Alonso’s departure in January, officially left Los Blancos on Tuesday with Jose Mourinho set to return as next permanent boss<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Fulham manager latest<\/p>\n

Chelsea legend and current Coventry boss Lampard<\/a> is a contender, along with Portuguese club Famalicao’s head coach Hugo Oliveira, who was previously a member of Silva’s coaching team at Fulham.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ON FOOTBALL<\/p>\n

Former Manchester United boss Amorim has been discussed but it’s unclear whether he would be open to the role.<\/p>\n

Another name on Fulham’s shortlist is Palmeiras boss Abel Ferreira.<\/p>\n

Ipswich manager latest<\/p>\n

There’s now a scramble to find a manager who can take charge of Ipswich as they look to make a better attempt at staying in the Premier League than in the 2024\/25 season, where they came 19th.<\/p>\n

talkSPORT understands former Wolves and Bournemouth boss Gary O’Neil is a candidate for the role.<\/p>\n

Any pursuit of O’Neil would get the blessing of former Ipswich striker Darren Bent as he named the former Norwich midfielder as his ideal successor to McKenna.<\/p>\n

When asked about who he’d like to see succeed McKenna in the Portman Road dugout, Bent said on Drivetime: “There’s now a Premier League job, free.<\/p>\n

\"Coventry<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Lampard’s Coventry beat Ipswich to the Championship titleCredit: Getty\"Ruben<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Amorim has been out of work since his ill-fated 14-month spell at Man United ended in JanuaryCredit: AFP\"Gary<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

O’Neil is currently in charge of French club Strasbourg, a post he’s held since JanuaryCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

“Agents right now will be ringing, [Ipswich chairman] Mark Ashton, ‘my manager could do that'”.<\/p>\n

Bent added: “I would like to see someone like Gary O’Neill. I really like, working with him on Sky, seeing the way that he sees the game, the way he speaks about football.<\/p>\n

“And I know he’s got more experience probably than Kieran, potentially. But they seem like similar type profiles, in terms of the way they want to manage the football they want to play.<\/p>\n

“So I think probably Gary would be my first choice, I’d say.”<\/p>\n

McKenna bids emotional farewell<\/p>\n

As for McKenna, he leaves the Tractor Boys after five years in charge, with this season seeing them earn promotion back to the Premier League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with a mixture of gratitude, pride, sadness and contentment that I have decided to step down from the honour of managing this historic football club,” McKenna said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

McKenna says he’s taking a break from football to spend more time with his familyCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have the connection that we have built at this club there is never a good time to say goodbye. <\/p>\n

“However, having achieved a second promotion to the Premier League last season, with another memorable final day in our stadium, and after reflection over the last couple of weeks, I feel this is the right time for me to step aside. <\/p>\n

“I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo manage this club has been an absolute privilege. Over the last five seasons we have been on an incredible journey that has brought so many of the best experiences in my professional and personal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter giving so much to the role over the previous five seasons, I now look forward to taking a break from management and dedicating some time to my family, who have been with me every step of my career so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many people I would like to thank who have played their part in this journey. <\/p>\n

“Firstly, to Mark Ashton and the board for giving me the opportunity, at 35 years old, to manage such a massive football club, and for the unwavering support and trust they have shown ever since. <\/p>\n

“To my coaching staff and all the wonderful staff at Portman Road and our Playford Road training centre, who work tirelessly to progress the club in every way. <\/p>\n

“To all of the players who have represented the club with professionalism and passion over the past five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, thank you to the amazing fans and supporters of Ipswich Town. You have followed this football club through wonderful highs and difficult lows. <\/p>\n

Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n

“I will be forever grateful for the way that you welcomed myself and my family, both to the football club and to the county of Suffolk. I will cherish the memories that we have shared together for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIpswich Town will always have a special place in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fulham have held talks with former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa over their vacant manager’s job, talkSPORT understands.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,11163,3621,3624,4670,221,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-632479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-fulham","tag-ipswich","tag-kieran-mckenna","tag-leaves","tag-premier-league","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}