Manchester United have been urged to hire Tottenham's Antonio Conte as their next permanent manager.
MEN Sport understands that Ajax's Erik ten Hag was interviewed for the vacant managerial position earlier this week and that he is the board's preferred choice for the job. Despite that, nothing is yet set in stone and United could go with an alternative option like PSG's Mauricio Pochettino who is among their top candidates.
Although Ten Hag appears to be in a strong position for the United job, former Rangers striker turned pundit Ally McCoist believes that Conte should be the man United choose to take the club forward. He explained to Four Four Two: "I think United missed the boat by not appointing Conte at the end of last year, and in normal circumstances you would think that ship had sailed, however, nothing surprises you in football.
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"You hear the rumours that Mauricio Pochettino wants to go back to Spurs, and doesn’t fancy United, so I wouldn’t rule out Conte going to United. The one thing Conte wants is financial backing, and I am not sure he is happy with what he is getting at Spurs.
"He has done a few strange interviews, and made a few comments that would indicate that is the case. United have great players, but they are not a great team, and I think Conte could help mould them into that.
"It is time for a real change." Conte explained earlier this month why he believed he was not considered for the United job.
Before United's victory over Spurs, he explained: "Honestly, I think that [when] United decided to sack Solskjaer, I [had already] signed for Tottenham.
"I enjoyed doing this because, at that moment, I found this situation very good for me, to work in a modern club with a fantastic stadium, with a fantastic training ground, with a big task to try to build something important, to build something competitive for the future. It [Solskjaer’s sacking] happened after I signed, but honestly, I am so focused on the Tottenham job that I didn’t read this."
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