Manchester United made a big mistake not hiring Antonio Conte when he was available, according to former Tottenham star and pundit Garth Crooks.
The Italian tactician hasn’t had the smoothest of starts at Spurs, but he did tremendous work with the north London giants this weekend as they stunned Manchester City with a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.
Conte has also previously enjoyed success in the Premier League with Chelsea, while he also ended last season as a Serie A winner with Inter Milan before surprisingly leaving the club.
It’s clear that Tottenham did well to land such a big name as their replacement for Nuno Espirito Santo, and Crooks believes it was a mistake from Man Utd not to try going for him before he was snapped up by Spurs.
The Red Devils ended up sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a bit later, with Ralf Rangnick now in charge as interim manager until the end of the season.
There are arguments about whether or not Conte would really be the right fit at Old Trafford, but Crooks certainly seems to think so.
“Hearing that Conte is actually enjoying his time at Spurs these days, in contrast to the rumours circulating recently, must be very comforting if you’re a fan. Man Utd made a big mistake not snapping up the Italian manager when he was available and Tottenham must give Conte whatever he wants in order to do his job,” the pundit wrote in his column on BBC Sport.
There should be plenty of other big names available for United when they bring in a permanent replacement for Rangnick in the summer, but will any of them really be that much better than Conte?