Antonio Conte ‘waited until the last minute’ to see if Manchester United were going to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before deciding to take on the Tottenham job
- Antonio Conte was heavily linked to the Manchester United job in recent weeks
- United opted to keep Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite their 5-0 loss to Liverpool
- Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked by Tottenham after a 3-0 loss to the Red Devils
- Tottenham decided to part ways with their manager and brought Conte in
- Conte reportedly waited as long as possible to see if Solskjaer was sacked
Antonio Conte reportedly waited to see if the Manchester United job would become available before deciding to fill the Tottenham vacancy.
The Italian was appointed as the new Spurs manager on Tuesday following the sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s position meanwhile has been under threat since United’s humiliating 5-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool last month.
Antonio Conte reportedly waited to see if the Manchester United job became available before joining Tottenham
The Mirror have reported that the former Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan manager ‘waited until the last minute’ to see if Solskjaer would get the sack before opting to make his Premier League return with Tottenham.
Conte was seen as one of the leading contenders to take on the job at Old Trafford if the club decided to sack their legendary striker Solskjaer.
The Norwegian’s position was under huge threat following the defeat to Liverpool on October 24.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kept his job despite Manchester United’s thumping defeat to Liverpool
Conte had previously been chased by Tottenham in the summer but was not ready at the time
Sportsmail previously reported that United — who gave Solskjaer a new three-year contract over the summer — were planning to review the 48-year-old’s position in December.
The galling surrender at Old Trafford to Jurgen Klopp’s side accelerated that process with board-level talks held between co-chairman Joel Glazer, Ed Woodward and managing director Richard Arnold in the aftermath.
United, for now, have opted to stick with Solskjaer, though another humiliating result could spell the end of his tenure at the club.
In their first match after the loss to Liverpool, they thumped Tottenham 3-0 which led to the end of Santo’s four-month stint at the club.
Conte got off to a winning start with Tottenham in their Europa Conference League victory
Tottenham had previously chased Conte in the summer, but the Italian has since admitted ‘it wasn’t the right time’ for him after not long leaving Inter Milan.
Conte got off to a winning start in his first game in charge of the north London club as Spurs claimed a 3-2 win over Vitesse in the Europa Conference League.
It’s hoped Conte will help turn around Tottenham’s season starting with their trip to Goodison Park to play Everton on Sunday.
Solskjaer is in desperate need of a positive result as United host Man City in a huge derby clash on Saturday.
