Former Chelsea boss sends message to Man Utd over replacing Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick’s job at Man Utd is safe… for now (Photo: Getty)

Former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says he is open to managing another Premier League club amid rumours linking him to Manchester United.

The Red Devils have endured an awful start to the season, winning just one of their opening five league games under Michael Carrick and getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup.

While Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co. have faith in Carrick for now, the pressure is already on the former United midfielder who was only appointed head coach on a permanent basis a few months ago.

Reports in Italy have once again linked Conte, who has been out of work since leaving Napoli at the end of last season, with the Old Trafford job.

The 57-year-old won the 2016/17 Premier League title at Chelsea with an impressive 93 points, before lifting the FA Cup the following season.

While a stint at Spurs between 2021 and 2023 did not go well, the former Italy boss is a serial champion, winning five Serie A titles with Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli.

And though he is enjoying some time off away from the dugout, Conte has thought about his next club and shared interest in awakening a sleeping giant – something that United most definitely are.

Antonio Conte is out of work after leaving Napoli at the end of last season (Photo: Getty)

‘If you go to a club where the history speaks for itself — a history made up of trophies, league titles and victories — you can only honour that history in one way: by having the ambition to bring that club back — if it isn’t there today — to fight for those goals,’ he told The Athletic.

‘I know full well that only one team can win every year, but I must carry in my heart — and instil in the hearts of the fans, my players and my directors — that spark, that hope that makes you say, “F**k, we can win”.

‘Even that one per cent — but it must be a one per cent that can become 70, 80 or even 100 per cent. It depends on how you convey it. The manager is important, because he conveys that message, day in, day out.

‘He has daily interactions with everyone: with his staff, the masseur, the kit man, the physiotherapist, the groundsman — all people who need to be involved and feel part of the drive to make history, and you only make history by winning.

Conte won the Premier League and FA Cup with Chelsea (Photo: Getty)

‘There are many clubs that have somewhat lost sight of their history. I’d like to go to one of these clubs to dust off that history and make it shine once more.

‘Clubs where there’s pressure, where, ultimately, you know full well that you’re not going there just to take part, but to compete.’

While Conte has previously expressed reluctance at joining a club mid-way through a season, he says he would consider it ‘if it’s worth it’.

He adds that the financial might of the Premier League is tempting, though stresses that he must be totally aligned with the club’s hierarchy, like Mikel Arteta is at Arsenal, if they are to be successful.

‘In England today they’re using bazookas, while everywhere else they’re still using a pistol,’ Conte added.

‘But we also need to be careful about how the money is spent. That’s why we were talking about making the right assessments, about having a vision, because you may well have the money, but you have to spend it wisely.