How Man Utd Would Line Up Under Antonio Conte

The pressure is growing on the shoulders of Manchester United manager Michael Carrick, with reports continuing to link the Red Devils with a handful of alternatives.

Antonio Conte, a league champion with four different clubs and most recently of Napoli, has been tipped to make the surprise switch to the dugout as United search for a more experienced tactician. He won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2016–17 before his spectacular bust-up with those in charge at Tottenham Hotspur, making it pretty tough to predict what United would get from him.

We can, however, have a pretty good guess.

Here’s how United could line up if they end up turning to Conte.

Antonio Conte’s Potential Man Utd XI

GK: Senne Lammens—Conte often prefers more experience at the back but would appreciate Lammens’s no-nonsense approach. United have no desire to change in goal at the minute, nor should they.

CB: Matthijs de Ligt—There were suggestions that Conte wanted De Ligt during his time as Tottenham Hotspur manager. While the past few seasons have hardly boosted the Dutchman’s reputation, Conte may well still hold enough intrigue to give him another chance.

CB: Harry Maguire—Few players benefited from Ruben Amorim’s three-man defense quite like Maguire, who looked at home at the heart of that back line. Conte would likely lean on the Englishman to re-introduce a tactical system that has a pretty miserable recent history at Old Trafford.

CB: Alessandro Bastoni—We know a new center back is on United’s agenda, and a replacement for the disgruntled Lisandro Martínez seems certain to arrive. United would be aiming incredibly high with Inter’s Bastoni, but the Italian has spoken incredibly highly of Conte in the past and has given credit to the manager for effectively turning him into a superstar.

RM: Michael Kayode—Conte loves an all-action wingback and would expect a complete overhaul in this department. The Premier League-proven Kayode, 22, is the exact sort of profile he would love, with reports suggesting Conte wanted him at Napoli.

CM: Carlos Baleba—Questions would be asked of United’s midfielders ahead of the return of a two-man unit. We’ve not seen much of Baleba in that setup but his all-round approach to the game suggests he could fit in well.

CM: Scott McTominay—Written in the stars, is it not? Conte turned McTominay into a star in Naples. His contract now has 18 months left to run, meaning his price tag will be dropping with each passing day to the sort of level at which a return to Old Trafford could be too tempting to ignore.

LM: Lewis Hall—Failure to sign Hall this summer could be a sliding doors moment for United, who now face having to dig deeper into their pockets to land the 22-year-old. Conte would love his energy and final-third impact, and would likely do whatever he could to convince United to finally go all-in.

RW: Bryan Mbeumo—We head into the forward line yet to find a place for Bruno Fernandes. That opportunity is unlikely to come on the right wing, where Mbeumo has proven to be one of United’s most dependable players over the past 18 months.

ST: Victor Osimhen—Conte would want a proven, cold-blooded goalscorer and is likely to take dim views of Benjamin Šeško and Joshua Zirkzee. Osimhen has previously admitted his desire to work under Conte, who wanted the Nigerian to remain at Napoli in 2025. Things could align in Manchester.

LW: Matheus Cunha—Could this be Fernandes’s spot? The Portugal international is hardly renowned for his work out wide and so might well be phased out altogether under Conte, who would likely keep his faith in Cunha on the left wing.