How Tottenham may have ruined Manchester United’s season by hiring Antonio Conte

Tottenham recently hired manager Antonio Conte to salvage their sputtering season. The move could hurt Manchester United as they pile up defeats.  

Tottenham, after getting off to a poor start this season, just hired former Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte. The Italian is now tasked with turning around a team desperately trying to finish in the top four.

At the same time, Manchester United has been floundering in the Premier League under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Each game, whether in the league or Champions League, seems to be a referendum on whether Solskjaer will keep his job.

The same happened this past Saturday when Man United lost to Manchester City 2-0 in the hotly-contested derby. Indeed, Manchester United had a chance a few weeks back to contact Conte. Instead, Spurs pulled the trigger first and signed him last week after losing to, of all teams, Man United.

Tottenham acting first with Antonio Conte puts Manchester United in a bad spot

That now leaves Manchester United stuck with Solskjaer with ESPN reporting on Monday the embattled coach is expected to survive the international break and remain in charge for the team’s next game against Watford. The Norwegian has spoken to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, ESPN reported, since the defeat to Manchester City, but “has so far been given no indication he is set for the sack.”

The 48-year-old Norwegian, who signed a new three-year contract this past July, has overseen a run of six defeats in 12 matches and hanging on in sixth place (five points out of the top four) despite having a star-studded roster that includes striker Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star was lured away from Juventus at the start of the season.

While Conte tries to get Spurs back on track, Man United’s management is now stuck with either keeping Solskjaer or trying to sign an unemployed manager. The pool of available managers, however, isn’t too deep.

Both Nuno, who was fired last week at Spurs, and Ronald Koeman, recently given the hook at Barcelona and replaced with Xavi, are both available — although neither are of the caliber that could adequately fit Manchester United’s needs.

Conte was the biggest name out there and Tottenham gobbled him up. It’s a move that could prove crucial, not just for Spurs as they try to qualify for next season’s Champions League, but for Manchester United’s fortunes.

There is one way for Man United to cancel out the poor decision not to sign Conte first and that’s for Solskjaer to turn things around after this week’s international break.

At the same time, Manchester United lead Group F in the Champions League with two matches left to play in the group stage. A win against Spanish side Villarreal on Nov. 23 could get them passage to the round of 16.

While Man City may be prioritizing the Champions League, they could find themselves in even bigger trouble in the Premier League standings over the coming weeks. Much of that could be because they don’t have Conte pacing the sidelines.