Rio Ferdinand makes Antonio Conte claim that could impact Manchester United manager hunt

27.02.2022 - 13:13 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Rio Ferdinand doesn't believe Antonio Conte will be in charge of Tottenham next season as Manchester United's search for a permanent manager goes on.

The Italian chief was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in light of United's drubbing to Liverpool in October. Conte was understood to be open to taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but the club opted to stick by the Norwegian.

As a result, former Chelsea boss Conte headed back to London to take charge of Spurs after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked, although United sacked Solskjaer shortly after anyway.

This week, in light of their defeat at Burnley, Conte cut a frustrated figure and was bemused by their latest stuttering performance.

With the former Chelsea boss evidently unhappy at the state of his current club — despite their 4-0 win over Leeds on Saturday lunchtime — Ferdinand feels that Conte won't be at Spurs for too much longer.

"I don't think he'll be here after the summer, based on what I've seen in the media this last week, based on the players he's disposed of," he told BT Sport.

"I think he'll be comfortable going 'listen, I didn't realise it was going to be that bad' and he will feel no worry about walking away.

"He's not someone who'll look back and regret that, he'll be confident in his decision and I'd be very surprised if he'll be here next year.

"And with someone like [Harry] Kane maybe leaving, imagine that. If Kane says he wants to go, he's not staying here and working with that I'm telling you."

Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.