Six Man Utd strugglers Conte could resurrect
Carlo Garganese
- 27 Oct 2021 16:59 BST
- 4 min read
If there is one manager in world football who can get the best out of an underperforming or unheralded player, it is Antonio Conte.
Throughout his career, the Italian manager has turned the proverbial water into wine, transforming average footballers into virtual world-beaters.
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At Chelsea, Conte took the ordinary Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso and made them into the best wing-backs in the Premier League.
With Italy at Euro 2016, Conte took a team featuring Graziano Pelle, Eder, Marco Parolo and Stefano Sturaro to one penalty kick away from beating world champions Germany to reach the semi-finals.
So, if Conte does indeed succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Man Utd, there will be a number of players who are currently unfavoured that may suddenly become important.
Here are five such players.
Donny van de Beek
It is widely reported that Van de Beek will leave Man Utd in January if Solskjaer remains as manager.
The attacking midfielder has only managed 51 minutes of play in the Premier League and Champions League this season, despite being available for every fixture.
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Way down the pecking order, Van de Beek has changed agents in order to push through a January move.
However, the arrival of Conte could give Van de Beek a second chance. The Italian likes one of his three central midfielders to be a box-to-box type who makes late runs into the area to score goals. This is a function that Van de Beek can fulfil.
Jesse Lingard
It is also a role that Lingard can carry out and, indeed, the Englishman may be favoured by Conte over Van de Beek.
Conte is known to be a fan of Lingard, having tried to sign him for Inter in January 2021 before the midfielder joined West Ham on loan instead.
The Italian coach demands his players press and work hard, something that Lingard is excellent at. He also would fit in both of the two systems Conte could play at Man Utd; the 3-5-2 or the 3-4-3/3-4-2-1, with Lingard being one of the two attacking midfielders supporting the striker in the latter formation.
Edinson Cavani
So who would that striker be? He may be last in the attacking pecking order under Solskjaer but, stylistically, Cavani is perhaps the best fit of all for Conte up front.
There are serious doubts over whether a Cristiano Ronaldo who is statistically the worst presser among forwards in the Premier League and does little running or defensive work can flourish in a Conte team.
Cavani, even at 34, works for the team – rather than the team working for him as is the case with Ronaldo. This is what Conte wants from his main striker. Cavani is also a penalty box threat, which none of the other attackers are bar Ronaldo.
Anthony Martial
Another attacker who could receive a lifeline is Martial. Still only 25, the Frenchman’s career has stagnated over the last year or so.
He scored just four league goals last season and has only one this term.
Although he is best as a wide attacker, which is not ideal if Conte plays his favoured 3-5-2, he is someone who the Italian believes could be suitable.
The proof of this is that again Conte enquired about signing Martial at Inter. Could Martial form a partnership in attack with Cavani.
Diogo Dalot
Anyone who has watched Antonio Conte’s teams over the last decade knows that he places great emphasis on his wingbacks.
They are required to cover every blade of grass down their flank, and bomb up and down the wing.
Dalot would potentially be well-suited to this role, especially if Aaron Wan-Bissaka is used as a right centre-back – something that is very possible given Conte’s preference to use fast full-backs in that role.
The Portuguese has never really made the breakthrough at Old Trafford and spent last season on loan at Milan. Could Conte change all that?
Nemanja Matic
The final potential member of the renaissance club is Matic, who was a key player when Conte won the league with Chelsea in his first season in 2016-17.
Matic is now 33 and clearly past his best but Conte knows the importance of a disciplined and tactically smart central midfielder in his team.
Man Utd have a weakness in the centre of the pitch and Conte may believe he can resurrect the old Matic.
Don’t put it past him, he’s done it time and time again with other players who have been written off.
