Antonio Conte wins trophies and breaks records which Manchester United crave

Suspicion has proven a loyal companion ever since Antonio Conte first flirted with English dugouts.

Back in 2016, Roman Abramovich was thought to have reservations about bringing the 52-year-old to Chelsea amid fears over the tactical suitability of Italian coaches.

Last summer, Tottenham apparently had concerns over Conte’s demands and his commitment to blooding youngsters.

Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that warning signs would sound around Manchester United, too.

Even as black clouds swell above Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Gary Neville insisted: ‘I wouldn’t bring him in.’ Not the right ‘fit’, apparently. Not the right time, either, for another ‘hitman who comes in and does a job for two years’.

Conte’s C.V. certainly suggests he deals in fleeting visits — only once has he lasted more than two years at a club. The Italian’s touchline demeanour, meanwhile, proves he is an intense, meticulous, combustible force. But as guns-for-hire go, are there any better shots?

Where Conte goes, trophies and broken records follow close. He restored Juventus as Italy’s dominant force, their 3,283-day reign as champions only ended last season — by Conte’s Inter. At Chelsea, his three-man defence ushered in a wave of imitation and re-invention.

‘When Conte speaks, his words assault you,’ Andrea Pirlo once said. ‘They crash through the doors of your mind.’ An ‘allergy to errors’ means Conte’s wife, Elisabetta, is routinely awoken by her husband jotting down mid-night brainwaves.

His players are drilled in patterns of play — often 11 against none, never suffering fools. Gianluigi Buffon was once scolded for interrupting one of many video analysis sessions. No matter that the title was already won.

Should United come calling, Conte won’t be cheap, or alone. He will demand an extensive support team. And what Conte wants, he gets. Or else.

At Juventus, Inter and Chelsea, problems stemmed from the clubs’ unwillingness — or inability — to deliver the signings he wanted. Uncertainty over Tottenham’s ambitions made Conte wary, too. Even Abramovich proved less acquiescent than he envisaged.

United might be happier to oblige. This post-Fergie malaise has hardly dented their market power, or their willingness to dig into those deep pockets. Keep their side of the bargain, and Conte will do the rest.

‘It’s time we stopped being c**p. Turning around this ship is not a polite request; it’s an order,’ he told players at Juventus.

‘We must return to the levels where we belong, the ones written into the history of this club’. All that required? ‘Follow me.’