Antonio Conte has been named as one of the potential replacements for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United. Here’s what happens when Conte coaches Man Utd.
Solskjaer’s position in the Man Utd coaching chair is faltering due to the poor results received by Man Utd. The 0-5 defeat to Liverpool was a humiliating defeat that tarnished the great history of Man Utd in the Premier League.
The defeat plus a number of poor results from Man Utd at the beginning of this season made Man Utd said to be able to sack Solskjaer in the near future. Conte’s name also floated as one of the candidates to replace Solskjaer.
As a coach, Conte is experienced and tested for quality. Conte once brought Juventus and Inter Milan to rise in the Italian League. In the Premier League, Conte also successfully led Chelsea to win the Premier League in the inaugural season.
Here are three things that happen when Conte coaches Man Utd:
1. Aaron Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw Work Harder
As a coach, Antonio Conte really likes a 3-5-2 formation that turns into a 5-3-2 when defending. This makes the wing back a crucial figure in Conte’s scheme.
At Chelsea, you can see the transformation of Victor Moses who eventually succeeded to become a right wing back and Ivan Perisic who was often placed as a left wing back at Inter Milan.
But there is also the figure of Achraf Hakimi who was able to raise his name with Conte at Inter Milan as the right wing back last season.
When it comes to Manchester United, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw must be ready to work hard to go up and down. Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw have the capital to do this because so far they have been actively assisting the attack.
2. Minutes Playing Central Defender Increase
The presence of Antonio Conte also means that the slots for central defenders are increasing. Conte often uses a three-parallel back formation, both at Inter Milan, Chelsea, and the Italian national team.
If Conte arrives, this will be good news for the Man Utd centre-backs. Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly, who were often substitutes at the beginning of this season, had a greater chance because they could be side by side with Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane.
But Luke Shaw could have been placed as one of the trio of centre-backs if Conte needed players who were more aggressive when attacking.
3. Competing each other on the front line
Conte can use a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation. At Inter, Conte prefers 3-5-2 with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez up front plus the support of three midfielders.
If Conte uses a 3-5-2 formation, competing each other on the front lines will be more and more inevitable. With the condition that one slot is almost certainly filled by Cristiano Ronaldo, another position will be up for grabs for Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani to Jesse Lingard.
If Conte uses a 3-4-3 formation, it will be the turn of the midfielders who will competing each other because the two positions in the midfield are definitely filled with wing backs. It’s interesting to see Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek and Fred fighting over the remaining two positions.
