Italy head coach Antonio Conte has claimed that Manchester United were interested in his services before appointing Louis van Gaal last summer.

Van Gaal started work at Old Trafford after guiding the Netherlands to the semi-finals of the World Cup, but Conte has suggested that United made an approach to him before he decided to take charge of the Azzurri.

"The English team that looked for me ended up signing the coach of a national team," the former Juventus boss told reporters.

"But my challenge with the national team is personal. Becoming a coach where usually the job is to select players, it is inspiring.

"I want to turn the Azzurri into a team. I want to work, even though right now I do very little actual work on the pitch."

Conte won the Serie A title in each of his three seasons with Juventus before resigning last summer.