According to the latest reports in Italy and England, Manchester United are ready to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and approach Antonio Conte, but have three concerns about the ex-Inter coach.
Solskjaer’s time would seem to be up at Old Trafford, with yesterday’s humiliating 5-0 Premier League home defeat to Liverpool the final straw.
Although Erik ten Hag of Ajax and former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane have also been mentioned, Conte remains the hot favourite.
Sky Sport Italia reporter Fabrizio Romano insists there has not been any contact yet between Manchester United and Conte, the reasons for that hesitation outlined in La Repubblica.
It seems United owners the Glazers have three major doubts around the decision to go for Conte, who is a free agent after leaving Scudetto-winners Inter by mutual consent in June.
The first concern is precisely that lack of longevity, because Conte rarely stays in one job for more than two seasons.
He lasted for three at Juventus, and then walked away one day into pre-season training in 2014, prompting a mad scramble to find replacement Max Allegri.
His time with the Italy squad, Chelsea and Inter also concluded after two years.
For a club that wanted to make Solskjaer their new Sir Alex Ferguson, Conte is considered somewhat flighty.
The second concern is Conte’s rapport with Cristiano Ronaldo, who as Juve learned, will not change his style of football for anyone.
It is the rest of the team that must adapt to CR7 and a high press from the forwards is something Conte tends to demand of his men.
The third doubt proposed by La Repubblica is that Solskjaer still has the protection of Manchester United legend Ferguson, so until he decides to pull the plug, the Norwegian has some hope of clinging on.
However, there is also one very big thing in Conte’s favour, namely his excellent rapport with Paul Pogba from their time together at Juventus.
The midfielder has still not agreed a new contract and will be a free agent this summer, but Conte’s arrival would probably convince him to pen an extension.