Conte emerges as United's top managerial target as Carrick faces Atletico Madrid test

Manchester United have held preliminary talks with Antonio Conte’s camp as the club weighs its options around under-pressure manager Michael Carrick, according to reports in Italy, with a crucial Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid now serving as a defining moment for the interim boss.

Per Calciomercato IT, United have made ‘initial contact’ with Conte’s representatives to gauge his interest in the Old Trafford role should it become available. The 57-year-old Italian, who left Napoli at the end of last season, is said to be more attracted to United than to Juventus — the club he managed between 2011 and 2014 — and has publicly hinted at his appetite for a rescue mission at a fallen giant.

“If you go to a club where the history speaks for itself — a history made up of trophies, league titles and victories — you can only honour that history in one way: by having the ambition to bring that club back, if it isn’t there today, to fight for those goals,” Conte told The Athletic.

Carrick’s side have won just once in their last five matches, that solitary victory a 4-0 opening-day rout of Azerbaijani minnows Sabah. Their most recent outing ended in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Saturday, a result made all the more damaging by the manner of it: Spurs equalised in stoppage time despite having had Rodrigo Bentancur sent off for headbutting Luke Shaw in the second half.

The injury situation ahead of the Atletico trip is worsening. Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo are both doubts after missing training before the squad flew to Spain, while Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui are confirmed absentees, joining the long-term casualty Manuel Ugarte on the sidelines.

Off the pitch, United face a separate blow in the form of 16-year-old academy prospect JJ Gabriel, who looks increasingly likely to leave the club. Gabriel rocked United last month by requesting his release amid reported interest from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. While United can block a domestic move, Gabriel’s EU passport opens a pathway to a European club.

Madrid-based reporter Jose Felix Diaz reports that Real are growing confident of winning the race for Gabriel, with the teenager understood to favour a move to La Liga. There is a growing acceptance within United that his departure is a matter of when, not if.