Antonio Conte does not look like a man rushing back into management, even if the speculation around a Manchester United opening continues to linger.<\/p>\n
The Premier League winner made clear at the weekend that he is currently content to step away from the dugout. Appearing virtually at an Italian festival honouring his former Juventus team, Conte kept the tone light. \u201cI would\u2019ve liked to be there with you, but at this moment I am not in Italy,\u201d he grinned. \u201cI\u2019m still enjoying my vacation, seeing as this year I have the opportunity to rest and relax.\u201d<\/p>\n
That posture will only fuel debate about what comes next, especially given Conte\u2019s record. He has won five Serie A titles across spells with Juventus, Inter Milan and Napoli, and added the Premier League during his first season at Chelsea. His time at Tottenham Hotspur also left a strong statistical mark, with the club qualifying for the Champions League under his management and sitting fifth when he departed the following year.<\/p>\n
For some Manchester United supporters, that profile would make him an obvious candidate. Yet not everyone at Old Trafford has been persuaded by the idea. Back in 2021, when Ole Gunnar Solskj\u00e6r\u2019s position was under scrutiny, Gary Neville made his view plain. \u201cHe\u2019s a great manager but I think certain managers fit certain clubs and I don\u2019t think Conte fits United personally,\u201d the former United right back argued. \u201cAs I say, great manager but doesn\u2019t feel right for me that one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville\u2019s concern was that United should avoid another \u201chitman\u201d appointment. The club had already lived through the effects of pursuing a serial winner in Jos\u00e9 Mourinho, where trophies were followed by a lasting trail of disruption.<\/p>\n
Conte\u2019s later career has not softened the sharp edges that define him. His spell at Tottenham ended with a blistering assessment of the club\u2019s nature, while his time at Napoli brought another Serie A title but also regular conflict with players and senior figures, often over transfers, or the lack of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Conte has played down a quick return to management as Manchester United speculation continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2019,2032],"tags":[1754,1836,59],"class_list":["post-21463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united-news","category-premier-league","tag-2026-27-fixtures","tag-2026-27-premier-league","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}