Newcastle United Hit By Blow As Antonio Conte Turns Them Down

Newcastle United have already been dealt a blow in their hopes of climbing up the Premier League table, with Antonio Conte having already turned them down.

Newcastle's change of owners has made them the richest club in the Premier League, and returned hope to their fans, as shown by the atmosphere they created ahead of the Tottenham Hotspur match.

That hope was soon diminished slightly by the performance of the team and chants rang round St James' Park to show how fed up they are of manager Steve Bruce.

Bruce was in some ways lucky to still be in charge on Sunday, his 1000th match as a manager, and time is running out for him as rumours continue on who might replace him.

Former Chelsea boss Conte has been one name linked, with the Italian currently out of work, but he's apparently already turned the job down.

"Antonio Conte refused a pharaonic offer from Newcastle," Italian journalist Fabio Santini said, via Area Napoli, explaining the riches that would have been on offer.

"The reason? He is waiting for a call from Manchester United"

At least that's one person Bruce doesn't have to worry about taking his job. Image: PA Images

Whilst the job at Newcastle seems almost certain to be up for grabs shortly, the chance of Conte getting to be in charge at Old Trafford is more questionable.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is certainly under pressure at United, especially following criticism of his tactics in the wake of the loss to Leicester City at the weekend.

Despite that, and the fact the manager can only use transfer funds in January if there's a genuine title battle for United, it's not thought that the powers that be at the club want to get rid of the manager.

The Norwegian only signed a new contract a few months ago and even when Louis van Gaal and David Moyes were sacked by the club in the past it wasn't until they were mathematically incapable of finishing that season in the top four.

Solskjaer has come under pressure in the media. Image: PA Images

Whilst Conte has previously won the Premier League with Chelsea, as well as four Serie A titles, with Juventus and Inter Milan, his appointment for United wouldn't be certain, even if Solskjaer was sacked.

Gary Neville doesn't think that the 52-year-old would be the right man for the role in the future, claiming the former Italy boss wouldn't suit the club, and compared him to Jose Mourinho.

Topics: Antonio Conte, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Steve Bruce, Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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