Last November was a busy month for both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as the two English superclubs made changes in their dugouts.
Tottenham appointed Antonio Conte as their manager, whilst United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and replaced the Norwegian with an interim manager in Ralf Rangnick. Many United fans wondered why the Red Devils didn’t make a move for the Italian as Solskjaer clung to his job which allowed Spurs to skip to the front of the line.
According to the Daily Mirror, Man United’s chiefs insisted Conte was not a good fit and opted instead for Rangnick. The result ended up with United missing out on a top-four finish to Spurs and Conte, despite having a superior squad over the London club.
One man who doesn’t understand why Man United didn’t move for Conte, is the Red Devils’ former left-back Patrice Evra. Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the former Man United star said about his former club missing out on the Italian: “It hurts my heart,”
“Because I think Conte, Klopp, Guardiola – all those managers are the best in the world right now and we could have had him at Manchester United.
“But some people at the club, they said: ‘It’s not our style, it’s not what we’re looking for.’
Evra went on to praise Conte further and labelled the Spurs boss a “genius”, the Frenchman stated: “this manager is a genius. When I arrived at Juventus, every player told me: ‘Patrice, this guy is a genius.
“He’s addicted, he’s so passionate about football. So you’re going to run really hard. He’s going to make you sweat. But if you look at the Tottenham fans, they are so happy because when they see the players now, win or they lose, they give everything. That’s the mentality of Antonio Conte.
“That’s why I say it hurts. Not because it’s Tottenham – I love every team – but it’s just because Conte could have done something.”
Many Man United fans will share the same viewpoint as Evra but there is now a new era starting at the Manchester club. The Red Devils will look to move on from last season and start making the climb back up the Premier League table.
Evra also showed his support for the new United boss in the interview and stated: “now we have Erik ten Hag. Let’s see what he’s going to do. He has my support. But then, even if you brought a chef in, as the manager of Man United, he’d have my full support.”