Manchester United Make Contact With Antonio Conte as Michael Carrick's Position Comes Under Scrutiny
What happened
Manchester United have made informal contact with Antonio Conte to establish his availability as a possible successor to Michael Carrick, according to Italian media reports relayed by Sky Sports and Calciomercato on 23 September. The club has not commented publicly and given no indication that Carrick's position is under formal threat, with the reports framed as United placing Conte at the top of a managerial wish list rather than confirming any decision to remove him.
Why it matters
The interest surfaces at the sharpest point of pressure Carrick has faced since being handed the job permanently, following a run of results that has left United with just two wins from their opening six matches across all competitions. A 1-0 derby defeat to Manchester City was followed by a Carabao Cup exit at home to Brighton, in which United squandered an early 2-0 lead inside the first ten minutes before losing 3-2, and a 1-1 draw with Fulham that left the club 12th in the Premier League table heading into the international break. Even exploratory contact with a manager of Conte's profile, at this stage of a permanent appointment, signals real doubt inside the club about the direction of the season.
Context
That form stands in contrast to Carrick's interim spell last season, when he won 11 of his first 16 matches in charge and steered United back into the Champions League — form that earned him the permanent role in the first place. Conte, for his part, has been out of work since leaving Napoli in May after a two-season spell that delivered a Serie A title and an Italian Super Cup, and reports note that Juventus and AC Milan could also compete for him if a vacancy at Old Trafford were to open up.
What to watch next
United's next Premier League fixture is at home to Tottenham on 10 October, once the extended September–October international break ends, giving Carrick close to three weeks without a match to address the run of results before facing further scrutiny. Whether contact with Conte develops into a formal approach, and whether United's ownership under INEOS moves beyond exploratory conversations, are the details likely to define the story from here — along with how Carrick's side performs when Premier League football resumes.