Antonio Conte is the clear favourite to be the next Manchester United manager amid doubts over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future.
The Italian tactician is one of the biggest names in football management to currently be out of work after leaving Inter Milan in the summer, and it seems most major bookies think he could be Old Trafford-bound in the near future.
Conte enjoyed plenty of success in his two seasons in the Premier League with Chelsea, winning a league title and FA Cup with the Blues before rather harshly being shown the door, as is so often the case with managers at Stamford Bridge in the Roman Abramovich era.
Could Conte now get another chance in England with Man Utd? Well, it looks like the bookies think it’s a lot more likely than some of the other names who’ve also been doing the rounds in the football rumour mill…
Next Man United Manager
Antonio Conte – 8/11
Brendan Rodgers – 13/2
Zinedine Zidane – 15/2
Mauricio Pochettino – 10/1
Erik ten Hag – 12/1
Darren Fletcher – 14/1
Whether or not you often bet on live football, this weekend’s results will undoubtedly be interesting to keep an eye on in the context of Solskjaer’s United future.
United take on Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday, and it’s a big chance for Solskjaer to bounce back and perhaps calm the speculation over his future.
Spurs aren’t having the best season themselves, with some doubts already emerging over Nuno Espirito Santo’s future at the club even though he only just took over in the summer.
If Solskjaer can’t steer the Red Devils to a victory in this game, then it’s surely going to be time for the club to say goodbye and turn to someone like Conte.
In truth, it’s pretty remarkable that Solskjaer was not immediately given the boot after last week’s 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool – a result that would surely be unthinkable under someone like Conte, or even Brendan Rodgers or Mauricio Pochettino.
Conte, however, has to be the stand-out candidate after his immense record of delivering trophies everywhere he’s been, though he’s perhaps not the kind of long-term ‘project’ manager that is more in line with United’s philosophy.
Perhaps it’s time to rethink that philosophy, though, as it’s really only led MUFC to make a few big mistakes in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, with none of the appointments they’ve made so far looking at all right for the job in the long run.
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