A former Manchester United coach has urged the club to steer clear of Antonio Conte if they sack Michael Carrick, but Martin Keown has endorsed the Italian for the role.

Carrick is set to be sacked by Man Utd after they suffered their fifth defeat in eight matches against Bournemouth on Sunday, losing 3-0 at Old Trafford. Carrick guided United into third place in the Premier League last season, but the players have since stopped playing for him, which has seen the club drop to 16th spot.

Conte, Unai Emery, Eddie Howe, Julian Nagelsmann and Fabian Hurzeler have all been shortlisted for the job.

Out of those targets, Conte, Howe or Nagelsmann would be the easiest options to snare as they are free agents.

Reports in the Italian media have claimed Conte has held talks with the United hierarchy about replacing Carrick, which forced the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss to deny such claims on his Instagram.

United director of football Jason Wilcox has made Howe his No 1 target, and Rene Meulensteen – who worked under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford – thinks the club is right to avoid Conte.

When asked about Conte potentially getting the job during an appearance on talkSPORT, Meulensteen replied: “I’ve seen that name being said and I would not be a supporter of that appointment at all.

“I think that would maybe get a very short uplift but it would come crashing down really, really quickly knowing the way that Conte goes about his job. I wouldn’t be in favour of that.

“If you asked me any other names, I couldn’t tell you, because the problem is not the next manager.

“Yes, he needs to be a strong personality, a strong character with great, strong views about the way he wants to do things. But every other manager that has been there before has, reading between the lines, said the same thing.

Owners have Man Utd ‘in a headlock’

“The problem is that the ownership has Manchester United in a headlock. That’s the problem and they can’t get out of it.”

Meulensteen also criticised United for ‘dismantling’ everything Ferguson worked so hard to achieve at the club.

Despite Meulensteen speaking out against Conte joining, Keown said on talkSPORT: “Conte would not be a bad choice for me because I think he wants to create change.”

As things stand, Howe is the favourite to take over, with Nagelsmann next in line.

United chiefs are wary about appointing Conte as he has a tendency to fall out with owners over transfer spending and other factors.

Hurzeler has already rejected the role in order to stay at Brighton, while capturing Emery from Aston Villa will likely be a very difficult task.