Patrice Evra was disappointed by Manchester United’s decision to pass on Antonio Conte because he had no doubt the former Juventus manager could have overturned the situation at Old Trafford.
Conte was linked to United before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired in November of last year. But Ralf Rangnick was chosen as the club’s temporary manager with the intention of taking the consultant role for further two years.
However, a Rangnick led United missed out on the Champions League with an average of 1.5 points per game and a victory percentage of 42 in the Premier League. This was already the club’s record lowest points tally in their history.
Evra is left to ponder what could have been United’s status if Conte wouldn’t have chosen to join Tottenham instead. He led them from ninth place to a top-four finish in the league.
As reported by The Mirror, he said:
“Conte’s so 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 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.”
A disjointed Spurs team under Conte was transformed into a unit that played consistently enough to earn a spot in the Champions League.
The north Londoners were so thrilled that they provided an additional £150 million transfer chest for the manager who had also helped Chelsea and Inter Milan win championships.
Conte has already begun adding vital players to his lineup, bringing in winger Ivan Perisic, goalkeeper Fraser Forster, and midfielder Yves Bissouma from Brighton for a combined £25 million. A very impressive piece of business by Spurs.
