Antonio Conte is willing to take the Manchester United job and is ready to ignore his usual rule of not taking over a new team midway through a campaign, according to reports.
United were destroyed 5-0 by Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday and are already eight points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after just nine matches.
Pressure is currently mounting on under-fire manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after a number of poor results and displays which has seen the club win just one of their last five league matches.
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Former Inter Milan and Chelsea title winner Conte is the outstanding available candidate to replace the United boss, though he is believed to have reservations over their structure.
According to The Guardian, while Conte is yet to receive a formal approach from the Red devils, he would be keen to talk to the club and views them as a ‘special opportunity’.
Usually the Italian manager is very particular and cautious when choosing his teams, notably rejecting Tottenham over the summer, while he has always been reluctant about taking over a team during a season.
However, Conte needs time on the training pitches to drill his players and implement his system, with few coaches utilising pre-season to the extent the Italian does. He values time with the players enormously, but for the United job he is ‘willing to make an exception’.
The former Italy boss has already been linked with Barcelona and Arsenal this campaign, though on both fronts had no interest in taking over the job.
United have a large squad that could be tailored to Conte’s system and demands, while he has worked with Paul Pogba before at Juventus with the player delivering some excellent performances under the Italian.
But, Conte still wants to speak to United before committing to a return to the Premier League and has some questions about their vision.
United’s board are yet to have discussed Solskjaer’s future yet after the defeat to Liverpool but are expected to convene on Monday afternoon to look at their options.
While United are still backing Solskjaer, there is a feeling that the upcoming matches against Tottenham, Atalanta and Man City before the November international break could define his future.
