Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still on the brink and the upcoming matches against Tottenham and Atalanta could be decisive for his future, with Antonio Conte the leading candidate to replace him.
The Red Devils have reportedly decided against sacking the former striker despite a humiliating 5-0 loss against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Antonio Conte is one of the candidates linked with the Manchester United job along with Erik Ten Hag, Zinedine Zidane and Brendan Rodgers.
Manchester United have 14 points in nine Premier League games and Solskjaer has three games to turn things around.
The Premier League giants will face Tottenham, Atalanta and Manchester City before the break and it remains to be seen how Solskjaer would be able to keep his job if the Red Devils don’t get positive results from these matches.
They visit Tottenham on Saturday, October 30, before facing Atalanta in Bergamo on Tuesday, November 2 and host Manchester City at Old Trafford on November 6.
Bizarrely, Antonio Conte has strict connections with two of the three teams Manchester United will face next.
Tottenham director Fabio Paratici is a good friend of Conte and was one of Juventus‘ executives during the coach’s three-year spell at the Allianz Stadium between 2011 and 2014.
Together, they won three Serie A titles and one Italian Super Cup.
Paratici left Juventus in the summer after an 11-year spell at the club.
Conte, however, has connections with Atalanta as well. Not many remember that Atalanta was his first club in Serie A as a coach.
He was appointed in September 2009 to replace Angelo Gregucci, but was the sack the following January after three wins, four draws and six defeats in 13 games.
He was sent off for dissent in his first-ever game in Serie A in charge of La Dea, in a 0-0 draw against Atalanta.
Atalanta were still owned by the Ruggeri family at that time, with Antonio Percassi that completed the club’s takeover in June 2010.
Conte was not on good terms with Atalanta fans who often criticised him during his spell at the club, but mostly for his past as a Juventus player.