Antonio Conte Linked to Manchester United Amidst Carrick's Challenges
Antonio Conte is back on the Manchester United radar – at least in Italy.
The former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter coach, a six-time league champion, is again being linked with Old Trafford as pressure quietly tightens around Michael Carrick’s early months in permanent charge. In Italy, the noise is getting louder. In Manchester, the message remains the opposite.
Carrick’s rise – and the early wobble
Carrick walked into a mess and briefly turned it into a statement. Taking over after Ruben Amorim’s dismissal, he steadied an underperforming United side, dragged them into the Champions League places and wrapped up a third-placed Premier League finish with something approaching comfort. It felt like a corner had been turned.
INEOS, newly in the building and keen to project clarity, backed him. They explored alternatives, did the interviews, ran the numbers – then handed the 44-year-old a two-year deal and the keys to the project. A club legend on the touchline, a clear structure above him, Champions League football secured. It looked coherent.
Now, only a few months into that new era, the questions have started.
Performances have dipped. One former United player has already wondered aloud whether Carrick will even reach the January transfer window. A flat, damaging 1-0 home defeat to 10-man Manchester City has only sharpened the debate around whether this is a blip or the first crack in the plan.
Conte “waiting by the phone”
In Italy, the conversation has moved faster. Reports there claim United’s hierarchy have at least considered Antonio Conte as a possible successor if the situation worsens.
Il Corriere dello Sport has gone further, describing Conte as “waiting by the phone” for a call from Old Trafford. The 57-year-old has been out of work since leaving Napoli at the end of last season and wants back in quickly, but only on his terms.
He has already turned down the chance to return as Italy’s national coach. Fenerbahce asked the question too. He said no. Conte is holding out for a job that matches his profile, his demands, and his sense of timing.
Old Trafford would tick a lot of boxes. This is not the first time his name has been floated as a potential United manager, and his record is hard to ignore: a win percentage of 58.04% across 703 games, league titles in multiple countries, and a reputation for jolting big clubs back to life.
The problem for United, if they ever do pick up the phone, is that they would not be alone. Juventus are also weighing up a move to bring Conte back to the Allianz Stadium, according to the same reports. The race for his signature, they say, is beginning to heat up.
United’s stance: Carrick stays
Inside Old Trafford, though, the line is firm. There are no active plans to sack Michael Carrick. Not now, and certainly not just a few months after confirming him as the long-term choice.
United know they reshaped their midfield heavily in the summer. New faces, new combinations, new responsibilities. That kind of surgery rarely clicks overnight, and there is a recognition within the club that the team would need time to settle.
Transfer frustrations haven’t helped. Fabrizio Romano, speaking after the defeat to City, underlined the club’s view of the summer window and of Carrick’s position.
According to Romano, United felt they were one player short – specifically a left-back – but refused to sign for the sake of it. The right option did not materialise, so they walked away rather than add a body they did not fully believe in.
What they do believe in, he stressed, is their manager.
Romano stated that United “absolutely remain convinced that the future will be bright under Michael Carrick” despite a return of just four points from their first four Premier League games, a start the club accepts is “disappointing in terms of results”. Internally, though, there is still “total faith and confidence” in the 44-year-old.
Carrick, for his part, is said to be unwavering. The optimism he projects in public – his insistence that this team will come good, that performances will grow, that the next weeks and months will look very different – is the same message he is delivering behind closed doors.
He believes this group can surge after the international break. The club, for now, shares that belief.
Two paths, one decision
So the picture is split.
In Italy, Conte is painted as ready and waiting, a proven serial winner who could stride into Old Trafford and impose instant authority. Juventus are circling. The opportunity to bring him back to Serie A is real.
In Manchester, United are holding their nerve with Carrick, backing a young manager they chose after a thorough process, and refusing to let a stuttering start blow up a long-term plan.
One coach is waiting by the phone. The other is being told the club is still all-in.
Only the coming weeks will decide which of them hears the call that really matters.
