Antonio Conte was interested in taking over at Manchester United but felt he couldn’t turn down the Tottenham job because of the Red Devils’ faith in Solskjaer.
The Italian has been named Tottenham manager today after agreeing to sign an 18-month deal with the north London club.
Conte had been the favourite to take over from Solskjaer at Old Trafford but United’s 3-0 victory against Spurs on Saturday saw Nuno Espirito Santo dismissed on Monday.
It’s not unfeasible to imagine the opposite scenario had the result been a different one on Saturday, with Solskjaer losing his job after a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham.
But the atmosphere inside the stadium, coupled with the defeat, convinced Daniel Levy to act and the Athletic claim Conte’s interest in the United job helped the Tottenham chairman to act swiftly.
Conte has been out of work since leaving Inter last summer and the Athletic claim he ‘loved’ the idea of taking charge at United.
The Italian coach never held discussions with the Red devils, but he felt he was in with a good chance of replacing Solskjaer after their 5-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Although, Conte told close friends he wanted the job, he decided to accept Spurs’ offer because he felt United’s faith in Solskjaer was very strong and that they would not sack the Norwegian coach.
Conte is expected to lead Tottenham for the first time in Thursday’s clash against Vitesse.
Spurs take on Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, with the Toffees having lost their last three games.
