Antonio Conte Linked to Manchester United Amid Support for Carrick

Manchester United find themselves in a familiar storm: questions over the manager, whispers of a high-profile replacement, and a slow start that has already frayed nerves around Old Trafford.

This time the name in the frame is Antonio Conte.

Conte at the Top of United’s Contingency List

According to the September 15 print edition of Corriere della Sera, relayed by SportWitness and CalcioMercato, United’s co-owners INEOS have identified the former Chelsea and Juventus boss as their leading candidate if they choose to move on from Michael Carrick.

Conte is currently out of work after leaving Napoli at the end of last season. At 57, he is not scrambling for the next offer. The report describes him as waiting for the “right project” to tempt him back into club management, and United – in theory – fit that profile.

His CV hardly needs polishing. Ten major trophies. Three straight Serie A titles with Juventus in 2012, 2013 and 2014. A Premier League crown with Chelsea in 2016/17. The Scudetto with Inter Milan in 2021. Another Italian championship with Napoli in 2025.

When a coach with that record is available, big clubs pay attention. United are no different. The Italian outlets say Conte sits at the top of a shortlist drawn up in case Carrick’s position becomes untenable.

And the pressure is real. United have taken just four points from their first four Premier League games this season. For a club of this size, that return bites.

They did win their opening Champions League fixture last week, a timely reminder that Carrick can still coax big nights from this squad. But the league table is unforgiving, and it is often domestic form that decides a manager’s fate.

Carrick Under Scrutiny, But Backed – For Now

Carrick’s journey to this point has been swift. Handed the interim job in January 2026, he steadied the side and then delivered Champions League qualification, earning the permanent role at the end of last season. It felt like a natural progression: a club man, a modern thinker, a calm presence after years of turbulence.

Now, just a few months into his first full campaign as permanent manager, the conversation has shifted from promise to jeopardy.

Yet the noise from Italy about Conte does not match the message coming from those closest to United’s decision-making.

Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, made the current INEOS stance clear: there are no plans to sack Carrick in the immediate future. Inside the club, the belief is that the project remains on track, even if the early results do not show it.

Romano explained that United’s hierarchy still see a “bright” future under Carrick. They accept that the summer window left them one player short – a left-back was on the agenda – but insist they refused to sign for the sake of optics. No panic buy, no late scramble just to say they had done something. If the right option was not there, they would wait.

That decision has left Carrick working with an imperfect squad, yet the faith in him has not wavered, according to Romano. Four points from four games is disappointing, but not, in INEOS’ view, a reason to tear everything up.

Crucially, Carrick himself is said to be unwavering in his own conviction. The bullish tone he has adopted in public – talking about doing “very well”, about his confidence in this group, about the quality in the dressing room – mirrors what he is telling the board behind closed doors. He believes the team will click, particularly after the current break gives him time to reset and refine.

A Manager in the Dugout, a Giant in the Wings

This is where the tension lies. On one side, a manager the club say they trust, who has already delivered Champions League qualification and who insists better days are imminent. On the other, a serial winner with a ferocious touchline presence, available and reportedly open to the right challenge.

Conte does not do half measures. Wherever he goes, he demands control, intensity, and instant improvement. He wins, but he also disrupts. Any move for him would signal a dramatic change of direction from the more measured, developmental path Carrick represents.

For now, United are not pulling that trigger. INEOS, by Romano’s account, are holding their nerve, backing their man and their plan.

But Conte’s name is out there now, hovering over Old Trafford like a shadow.

If results do not turn quickly, how long can that stance hold?