He may be a ‘difficult bugger’ who ‘upsets everybody’ and ‘drives owners mad’ but Antonio Conte is exactly what Manchester United need.
That is the view of Simon Jordan, who urged the Red Devils to get the Italian, who’s now available having suddenly left Inter Milan on Wednesday.
The timing of Conte’s departure was strange considering he won them Serie A earlier this month but it’s understood it’s down to him disagreeing with the club’s proposed cost-cutting measures, including selling players, this summer.
But the story also has a familiar feel to it – the Italian is well-known to have ruffled a few feathers in his time, particularly when in charge of Chelsea.
Despite all his flaws, the results he gets are brilliant. He’s one five league titles with three different clubs (Juventus, Chelsea and Inter) and oversaw brilliant transformations for all three sides.
Conte has also been linked with the Tottenham job but that’s a ‘match made in hell’ according to Jordan. But Man United is ideal for him and the club.
Jordan added that the way he drives owners mad would be loved by the Man United fans, who have disliked the Glazer family for years.
“Antonio Conte is a difficult bugger but one of the few clubs that can harness his ambitions economically are Man United,” Jordan told talkSPORT.
“You want to win something in the here and now and to change the direction of the club, someone like Antonio Conte coming to Manchester United would probably be the fix that fixes all problems.
“He goes to places and wins things and he upsets everybody, he drives the ownership mad but I bet there’s a bunch of Manchester United fans who’d say ‘we’d welcome that because our owners are a bunch of disingenuous slobs’.
“If you want to win something in the here and now, he’s just come off the back of winning Serie A. Everywhere he goes he wins something of significance.
“But he does leave a trail of carnage. He left Inter Milan because they want to cut the cloth, reduce the wages because everyone’s bleeding out of their eyes financially and sell players. He doesn’t fancy it…
“Man United can afford this. They can afford someone who’s a little bit difficult about what he does and doesn’t want because Man United have got such a gap to bridge between themselves and Manchester City.”