ESPN have revealed that Manchester United chose against hiring Antonio Conte last season due to the Italian’s tendency to only stick around for short-term projects.
Conte was mooted as a replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last season (Goal.com) but ironically, it was the Norwegian who inadvertently opened the door for the Italian to arrive at Spurs.
After Man Utd thrashed the Lilywhites 3-0 last September, the Tottenham hierarchy decided to part ways with Nuno Espirito Santo, just four months on from his appointment, with Conte taking his place in the dugout.
Solskjaer did not last too much longer at Old Trafford and was soon replaced by Ralf Rangnick as interim head coach before Erik Ten Hag took over at the helm in the summer.
ESPN have now explained that United were concerned about the potential trajectory under Conte, fearing that results and supporter satisfaction would suffer once the 53-year-old lost that early impetus.
The Red Devils allegedly did not want a short-term project and were concerned that the Italian’s methods would only work for so long with the United players, which is why they rejected the chance to hire the now Spurs boss.
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We cannot say that United’s assessment was wrong as Conte’s career shows that he does not tend to stay long at clubs and that players sometimes get worn out by his intensity.
However, the Italian seems to be now entering a phase of his career where he wants to build a long-term project and a legacy at a club. Spurs might end up being the beneficiaries of that.
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