Antonio Conte Linked to Manchester United as INEOS Support Carrick

Manchester United’s season is barely out of first gear and already the managerial rumblings have begun. Four points from four Premier League games have reopened an old wound at Old Trafford: what is the long-term plan in the dugout?

According to Corriere della Sera, the answer – at least on paper – has a familiar, combustible edge: Antonio Conte.

Conte at the Top of the List

The Italian newspaper reports that United’s co-owners, INEOS, have identified Conte as their leading candidate should they decide to move on from Michael Carrick. The 57-year-old is currently out of work after leaving Napoli at the end of last season and, as ever, is being linked with the biggest jobs on the continent.

Conte’s CV speaks loudly enough. Ten major trophies. Three straight Serie A titles with Juventus in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The Scudetto with Inter Milan in 2021. A Premier League crown with Chelsea in 2016/17. And most recently, another Italian championship with Napoli in 2025. He does not do quiet rebuilds. He does revolutions.

Corriere della Sera, via SportWitness and CalcioMercato, claim that if United pull the trigger on Carrick, Conte sits at the very top of their shortlist. He is said to be waiting for the “right project” to tempt him back into club management. On pedigree alone, United fits that description.

The timing of the links is no coincidence. United have stumbled out of the blocks domestically, their four league games yielding just one win and a draw. The mood music has darkened, even if the club opened their Champions League campaign with a victory last week. At Old Trafford, that kind of inconsistency always drags the manager into the spotlight.

INEOS Back Carrick – For Now

Yet the noise from Italy clashes with a very different message from inside the club. Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, insists INEOS are not planning to sack Carrick “anytime soon” and remain convinced the project is heading in the right direction.

Romano reports that United’s hierarchy still see a bright future under the former midfielder. They accept that the start to the Premier League season has been disappointing, but they have not lost faith in the man they made permanent manager at the end of last season after he secured Champions League qualification for 2026/27.

Carrick’s journey to this point has been steady rather than spectacular. Appointed interim boss in January 2026, he did enough to earn the job on a full-time basis by guiding United back into Europe’s elite competition. That achievement bought him credit. The current table threatens to spend it.

One area of quiet regret inside the club, Romano says, is the summer transfer window. United wanted one more signing – a left-back – but refused to compromise on their shortlist. They explored options, did the groundwork, then walked away when they were not convinced by what was available. The club did not want to add a body just to say they had signed someone.

It leaves Carrick working with a squad he believes is good enough, but not quite as complete as he would have liked. Publicly, he has repeated a simple message: he trusts this team and expects them to perform “very well” in the coming weeks and months, especially after the international break. Privately, according to Romano, he is saying exactly the same thing to his employers.

A Manager Under Watch, Not Under Notice

So where does that leave him? Under pressure, certainly. Under immediate threat, less so.

INEOS are watching a slow start and hearing the outside noise grow. They are also looking at a coach they deliberately backed, and a dressing room still adjusting to his ideas. For now, they are choosing patience over panic.

Conte’s name changes the temperature of any conversation. He is not a background option. He is a statement. When a club flirts with Conte, the football world notices. When a club like Manchester United are reported to have him at the top of a list, every result Carrick records from here on will be judged against that looming possibility.

Right now, the line from inside Old Trafford is clear: no imminent sacking, total faith in Carrick. The Italian headlines say something else: that if the results do not turn, a serial winner is waiting for the call.

The next few weeks will decide which version of this story survives.