Antonio Conte may be regretting joining Tottenham and not waiting for Manchester United, according to a man who played for both sides.
Premier League and Serie A winning manager Conte was the bookies’ favourite to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back at the start of November, but clearly became impatient.
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Solskjaer kept his job at Old Trafford despite a record-breaking 5-0 home defeat against Liverpool, with Conte signing up at Spurs soon after.
It took two more humiliating losses against Manchester City and Watford for Solskjaer to finally be relieved of his duties, but by then Conte was already under employment in north London.
However, it’s possible that he may be having some regrets, with a 2-1 Europa Conference League loss to Slovenian minnows NS Mura showing the Italian just how big a job he has at hand.
“At this moment the level at Tottenham is not so high,” Conte candidly admitted post-match.
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And former Spurs and United striker, as well as legendary talkSPORT host, Alan Brazil, believes Conte must be feeling some regret.
“Conte, he’ll never admit it, but he must be saying why didn’t I just wait,” Brazil said.
“Why didn’t I just wait. I’d now be standing on the touchline at Old Trafford.
“It was crystal clear that Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] was on thin ice.”
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Solskjaer was eventually removed after nearly three years at the club, ending his tenure trophyless.
Ralf Rangnick looks set to replace the Norwegian on a six-month deal, becoming a surprise candidate for the role Conte was penciled in for by many.
Fellow talkSPORT host Ray Parlour disagreed with Brazil, though, saying Conte shouldn’t let any second thoughts cross his mind, as things could have easily remained the same.
“You can’t think like that now,” said the Arsenal legend. “[Solskjaer] was on thin ice but they could have beat Watford and suddenly gone on a run.
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“They might have beat Villarreal in the Champions League then suddenly he’s got his job again, so I think Conte made that big decision.
“Fair play to Spurs, they moved quickly, because they might have been looking at the situation at United.
“Conte’s made that decision and he’s got to put everything behind the job now.”
Drivetime presenter Darren Gough posed a third theory though, suggesting that it’s too soon to rule a potentially regretful Conte out of the running to eventually take over in Manchester.
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“Can he still not go to Manchester United?”the Ehgland cricket legend pondered.
“If Manchester United rang him up now and said, ‘we’ve made a mistake, we should have got rid of Solskjaer a month ago, but do you fancy it?’
“Football’s a ruthless business and, if Manchester United went in for Conte, I’m not saying it would happen, but you’re telling me he wouldn’t think ‘hmm, let me have a think about it’?”
