What Antonio Conte told friends about the United job after accepting Spurs offer

Antonio Conte ‘loved’ the idea of taking over at Manchester United but felt he couldn’t turn down the Tottenham job because of the Red Devils’ faith in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Italian is set to be named Spurs boss today after agreeing to sign an 18-month deal with the north London club.

Conte had been the favourite to take over from Solskjaer at Old Trafford but United’s 3-0 win against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on Saturday saw the Portuguese coach dismissed on Monday morning.

It’s not unfeasible to imagine the opposite scenario had the result been different on Saturday, with Solskjaer losing his job after a 3-0 defeat against Tottenham.

But the toxic atmosphere inside the stadium, coupled with the nature of the defeat, convinced Daniel Levy to act and the Athletic claim Conte’s interest in the United job helped the Spurs chairman to act swiftly.

Conte has been out of work since leaving Inter Milan last summer and the Athletic claim he ‘loved’ the idea of taking charge at Old Trafford.

The Italian never held talks with United, but he felt he was in with a good chance of replacing Solskjaer following the side’s 5-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool.

And though Conte told close friends he wanted the job, he decided to accept Spurs’ offer because he felt United’s faith in Solskjaer was too strong and that they would not sack the Norwegian.

Conte is expected to take training this afternoon before leading Spurs for the first time in Thursday’s clash against Vitesse.

Spurs take on Everton in the Premier League on Sunday, with the Toffees having lost their last three matches.

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