ESPN claim that Manchester United chose not to hire Tottenham manager Antonio Conte in 2021 because they were wary of his short-term history at clubs – and preferred to bring in a gaffer that would give them long-term stability.
Conte, 53, is approaching his year anniversary as Tottenham manager, after being hired by Daniel Levy on November 2. He has since managed 53 matches in all competitions, winning 30 times. He has also watched his side lose 14 times.
Tottenham are now facing the issues that Manchester United chose to avoid. Indeed, the Italian gaffer is out of contract at the end of the season. Tottenham do have an option to extend it, but they may prefer to offer Conte a new deal.
However, it depends on whether Conte is happy enough to remain. They will hardly want to keep the ex-Chelsea boss if his heart is not in it. The report states United chose to avoid Conte for this reason – he is a short-term fix as a gaffer.
Manchester United chose not to hire Conte because of short-term history
While it is probably the right view that Conte does have a short-term history at clubs, United brought in Ralf Rangnick instead. Look at how that went. United needed a manager like Conte to get the side firing as soon as he came in.
Look at Spurs. He took the North Londoners from a side languishing outside the top six, to fourth in the Premier League table. But the doubt over Conte’s long-term interest remains, especially with his family remaining in Italy.
He does seem happy at Spurs. As things stand, the only real links are a Juve return. But the chances of that happening seem small, given the strained partnership between Conte and Andrea Agnelli from the duo’s previous spell together.
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