Manchester United are there again. The Old Trafford club are on the verge of parting ways with a manager. Michael Carrick was something of a hero at Old Trafford last season, taking over the ashes left by Ruben Amorim and dragging United to the Champions League.
The 4-1 defeat to Como in that competition on Wednesday evening, and the manner of it, now takes Carrick to the brink. Comments from Bruno Fernandes after the match have been hyped into something they were not, however, it’s clear the captain – in a terrible run of form which may be fitness based – isn’t happy.
Indeed, nobody is.
Reports from Italy on Thursday of Diogo Dalot considering his future, and being in contact with Juventus and the Milan clubs, was the cherry on top of the latest crisis.
Dalot can rarely be questioned on effort but many would feel he’s fortunate to be at Manchester United. The player’s camp seemingly pushing a potential exit is like a whole new insult.
Big Antonio Conte developments
Antonio Conte has naturally been talked about as one of the options to replace Michael Carrick. The Italian has been shopping himself around recently. An interview in which he said he’d like to manage a club who had dropped from their glorious past was clearly a nod to Manchester United and Juventus. He may as well just have named them.
La Repubblica, one of the calmer and more reliable newspapers in Italy, now report developments between Conte and United: ‘Talks with Conte continued late Wednesday evening: the manager opened up about the possibility of returning to the Premier League, but has set specific conditions. He is asking for carte blanche on the transfer market and the ability to choose the players who will support him in his new adventure. He wants to influence the team’s construction, identify players who are key to his game, and have trusted collaborators at his side.
‘In the next few hours, the owners will evaluate the demands, a crucial step in determining whether the dialogue can develop into a concrete negotiation. There has been an opening, but an agreement hasn’t yet been reached.’
What does he want specifically?
The key points appear to be:
- To be be in charge of the club’s transfers
- Players to be chosen by him, so more like a manager than head coach
- Being allowed to work with ‘trusted collaborators’
Whether the reference to ‘trusted collaborators’ refers to his assistants or a favoured sporting director is unclear.
Should be the latter than Piero Ausilio immediately springs to mind. The pair worked together at Inter Milan, and Ausilio is a free agent. He had a little fall out with Inter over renewal terms in the summer and subsequently left.
Tottenham Hotspur have been linked, although nothing is finalised. The chance to work with Antonio Conte at Manchester United would obviously be attractive.
