The decision is now close: Conte awaits Manchester United's signal
Carrick's short story nears its end
Michael Carrick is feeling the heat at Manchester United after a stuttering start to life in charge.
One win from six Premier League games tells its own story. United also surrendered a two-goal lead at home to Brighton in the League Cup and crashed out of the competition.
No English opponent has been kept out this season, and The Athletic reported earlier that INEOS chiefs remain worried about the team's sharpness under Carrick, specifically their ability to nail the basics: pressing and closing down space.
Italian reports name Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe as the leading candidates to replace him. Conte, a six-time league title winner who lifted the Premier League with Chelsea, appeared to drop hints about his own future during the international break.
Clear hints? Conte reveals his vision for Manchester United
Conte, 57, sat down with "The Athletic" for a lengthy interview and spelled out what separates the Premier League from Europe's other major divisions. "In England today they use rocket launchers in the transfer market, while everyone else everywhere is still using pistols."
He added: "But we also have to be careful about how the money is spent. That is why we were talking earlier about the need to make the right assessments and to have a clear vision. You may have the money, but you have to spend it wisely."
History, for the Italian, brings its own obligations. "When you go to a club whose history speaks for itself, with a history full of trophies, league titles and victories, there is only one way you can honour that history, and that is by having the ambition to bring the club back into contention for those targets if it is not achieving them at present," Conte continued.
"I know very well that only one team can win every year, but I have to carry that ambition in my heart, and plant in the hearts of the fans, the players and the officials that spark and that hope which make you say: we can win," he explained.
The 57-year-old then made his pitch. "There are many clubs that have lost touch to some extent with their history. I would like to go to one of these clubs to revive that history and make it shine again. Clubs where you feel the pressure, and where you realise that you are not going there just to take part, but to compete."
Saudi Arabia and Turkey rejected: Fabrizio Romano sets the record straight
Antonio Conte is ready to coach again, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, who says the manager is fully prepared to resume his career.
Romano added: "Antonio Conte left Napoli in the summer, and he is ready to return. He has turned down offers from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, because he wanted to join a big club in one of the major leagues."
"That is his wish at the moment," he continued, "and we have to wait and see what happens next."
Italian press adds more: Conte awaits United's signal
Enzo Bucchioni of "Tuttomercatoweb" reported that Conte is close to an agreement with Manchester United, who have endured a poor start in the Premier League and recently drew with Roberto De Zerbi's Tottenham.
"Calciomercato" ran a similar line at around the same time, claiming the Manchester United board are seriously considering sacking Carrick, with Conte ready to take charge.
The Italian report, carried by TEAMtalk, said: "The Manchester United board are seriously considering sacking Michael Carrick and handing the job to Conte, who would thereby return to England after his spells with Chelsea between 2016 and 2018, and Tottenham between 2021 and 2023."
It added: "Conte would strongly welcome receiving a call from Manchester United."
