There had been whispers in recent months that Roberto De Zerbi was under consideration for the Manchester United job, but he was announced as the new Tottenham head coach on Tuesday.
When Ruben Amorim was dismissed in January, nobody thought that his interim replacement, Michael Carrick, would be such a serious contender for the permanent role at this stage of the season.
Football is a results business, and that is exactly why Carrick finds himself in this position, in the process of guiding United back into the Champions League.
Carrick still needs to fight off competition from other candidates for the role, but United have not spoken to anyone else yet. Their focus is on finishing the season strongly and creating the best environment around the club to help the team achieve that.
Roberto De Zerbi in the Marseille dugout
Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
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Roberto De Zerbi sounded out Man Utd job
Roberto De Zerbi was linked with the United job in January, when he was still in charge at Ligue 1 outfit Marseille.
The Italian’s reputation took a hit when he left Marseille in February following a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
In that time, Carrick has turned things around at United, with the Red Devils sitting third in the Premier League with seven games left to secure Champions League qualification.
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Carrick has done such a good job in that time that United didn’t panic when De Zerbi made an approach to secure the job before moving to Tottenham, as reported by talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.
Crook said: “Do you know what I find interesting about Michael Carrick? We’ve got to Easter Weekend and they’ve not spoken – as I understand – to any other candidates.
“That’s not to say Carrick has been interviewed for the job. I don’t think they’ll need to interview him. I think they either give it to him or they don’t.
“Speaking to people in Italy this morning, Jamie. They were telling me that Roberto De Zerbi – before taking the Tottenham job — sounded out Manchester United and was told he wasn’t in the reckoning there.”
In other words, De Zerbi got turned down, but he must have felt confident enough to ask in the first place.
De Zerbi walks into a relegation battle at Tottenham, which will make for an intriguing end to the season for the north London outfit.
Are you happy Manchester United opted not to appoint Roberto De Zerbi?
Roberto De Zerbi was no stranger to Manchester United links.
Roberto De Zerbi press conference
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Roberto De Zerbi makes apology over Mason Greenwood stance
De Zerbi has already issued an apology at Tottenham despite being in the job for less than a week.
The 46-year-old apologised for his past comments on former United forward Mason Greenwood from his time at Marseille.
In his first interview with Tottenham’s in-house media, De Zerbi took time to share his updated stance on the situation following opposition from multiple fan groups, including Proud Lilywhites and Women of the Lane.
“I would like to answer your question in Italian because I want to be clear,” De Zerbi said.
“I have never wanted to downplay the issue of violence against women or violence against anyone more broadly.
“In my life, I have always stood up for those who are more vulnerable, more fragile, I’ve consistently fought and taken a stand to be on the side of those who are most at risk.
“Those of you who know me well, will know that I am not the kind of person who makes compromises to win more games or to win an extra title.
“I am sorry if I offended anyone’s feeling with this subject matter – I have a daughter and I’m very sensitive to these things, and I always have been.
“I hope that over time people will get to know me better and will understand that at that moment I didn’t mean to take a stance.”
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