Antonio Conte reportedly wanted the Manchester United job and was ‘waiting for them to call’ before he finally made the decision to join Tottenham.
The Italian was appointed as the new Spurs manager after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked at the start of November, ironically after a defeat to United.
Conte was heavily linked with the manager’s job at Old Trafford amid reports the Red Devils were considering sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after their 5-0 defeat by Liverpool.
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The Norwegian coach was able to ride out the storm thanks to the subsequent 3-0 victory over Tottenham – a result that ended Nuno’s tenure after just 17 matches in charge.
Conte ended up replacing the Portuguese in north London, but it’s been suggested he “wanted the Manchester United job” and was even waiting to be asked to take over.
That is according to respected football journalist Fabrizio Romano, who also claimed that when the call “never came”, Conte then decided to “join Spurs instead.”
Italian journalist Roberto Gotta offered a similar view about the move. He told Tuttomercatoweb: “I understand that there was a wait until the last moment; Manchester United have a better squad and more decisive players.
“However, Manchester United have never publicly lacked confidence in Solskjaer. Conte in Manchester should have won immediately, while in Tottenham, he should have prepared the team for next season.”
Conte got off to a winning start in his first match as Tottenham head coach as his new team eked out a 3-2 victory over Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.
That win was followed by a 0-0 draw with Everton in the Premier League just before the international break.
After the victory over Vitesse, Conte said: “We need to have a bit of patience because we need to work on many aspects – tactically and physically. I’m not afraid about the work. I know only through the work you can reach important targets.”
Solskjaer, meanwhile, limped on as United boss but suffered another huge blow with a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City. And he remains the favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
