Former Inter defender Ashley Young has warned that appointing Antonio Conte as head coach of Manchester United could be a 'disaster' waiting to happen, especially if the United squad are not willing to put in the hard yards.
Rumours continue to circulate regarding the head coach position at Old Trafford.
ITALY – OCTOBER 21: Michael Carrick, Manager of Manchester United, reacts after during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Como 1907 and Manchester United at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on October 21, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Reports in the UK suggest that Michael Carrick is on the verge of being dismissed after a miserable week that has brought a 4-1 defeat against Como in the Champions League and a 3-0 loss at home against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League, on top of the fact that a number of senior squad members have publicly criticised the club and their decision making over the last few weeks.
Conte has been tipped as a potential replacement should Carrick be given the boot, along with the likes of Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann, Unai Emery and Fabian Hurzeler.
Conte is still proving to be a divisive figure in the Premier League . Despite his winning track record, there are concerns for some that he is not the right fit for United in their current circumstances, which former Inter and United defender Young agrees with.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 21: Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea poses with the Premier League Trophy after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Young won the 2020-21 Serie A title playing under Conte at Inter, but feels that his methods might not be what the United squad need in this moment.
"I've worked underneath him at Inter. He's crazy by the way, crazy," said Young on a recent appearance on the Overlap Daily .
"He's a bit like Diego Simeone on the sidelines, like, you hear him non-stop. Training is intense, there's a lot of running.
"There was a lot that he'd done, the training sessions were a lot of 11 vs 11, at times a little bit boring. Meetings were long. When I say long, I'm talking: If we lost a game, we could go in for the meeting and he'd stop literally everything. And you could be in there for three or four hours. It was like 'come on now, let's be serious'.
MILAN, ITALY – JULY 28: Ashley Young of FC Internazionale gestures during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on July 28, 2020 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
"I think that's one of the reasons why he doesn't last long at places because it's not just the players he tries to test mentally, but the board as well, and the owners. I think that people get annoyed with him and think 'it's time for you to go'.
"A lot of talk has been about Man United's running stats. If they're not going to run and Antonio Conte goes in there, it's going to be a disaster I think."
