It’s fair to say Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola’s first seasons in Manchester have been a little underwhelming.
Back in August, it was more a question of which one would be crowned Premier League champion than whose maiden campaign would turn out to be the least disappointing.
Guardiola has lost six times in a season for the first time in his career, while Mourinho may have little else to show for his first year at Manchester United than an EFL Cup.
That doesn’t seem to have damaged the pair’s stock in Europe, however, and their troubles in English football may have served to encourage Inter Milan, who are thought to be keen on replacing Stefano Pioli.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Nerazzurri are aware they may struggle to lure Antonio Conte from Chelsea, but they have started to put together what it has to be said is an ambitious list of other options.
Mourinho and Guardiola both feature on it. They are also joined by Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, who spent two years as a player at the San Siro.
Carlo Ancelotti is another name in contention, though the question has to be asked why he would leave Bayern Munich. The Italian is an AC Milan icon, and even if Inter were confident he would like to return to his native country, they would be hard pushed to convince him to part ways with the dominant Bavarians.
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