Roberto De Zerbi’s impressive managerial work at Brighton hasn’t gone unnoticed, to the point where a series of top sides in England and beyond are seriously interested in making him their new head coach come the summer months – less than two full years after joining the Seagulls as Graham Potter’s successor on the south Coast. Judging by recent comments, he’ll soon depart.
De Zerbi: Brighton braced for unwanted departure
- Liverpool still searching for a Jurgen Klopp successor, Chelsea undecided about Mauricio Pochettino’s future at the helm after poor season
- Thomas Tuchel has already agreed to leave Bayern at the season’s end while iconic player-turned-coach Xavi is resigning from Barcelona
- De Zerbi, 44, quickly managed to make Brighton a more exciting Premier League side for neutrals to watch, fans to support through thick and thin
BAYERN Munich and Barcelona are just two of the European giants heavily linked with a summer approach for Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi, who has some difficult decisions to make surrounding his long-term future after masterminding the Seagulls‘ best fortunes over the last 18 months. Have they hit their peak?
He could stay in England and upgrade while looking to avoid the same fate as his predecessor Graham Potter, who barely lasted seven months into a shiny five-year contract in west London before swiftly being sacked at Chelsea. They haven’t exactly thrived in the year since that move, either: perhaps it serves as a cautionary tale.
Weighing up the English options
Brighton – De Zerbi’s existing deal runs until 2026, and he’s content there
Liverpool – Reds need new leader in first steps of post-Klopp era
Manchester United – Erik ten Hag under increasing scrutiny under new ownership
Chelsea – Despite a promising start, patience wearing thin with Pochettino
A piece in La Gazzetta dello Sport by Davide Chinellato explores this notion, discussing the handful of top clubs where managerial job security is either dangerously unsafe or already set for new changes over the summer.
Couple that with Brighton’s overachievement – both domestically and in Europe – many feel he has taken them as far as they can go in the current climate.
Brighton pride themselves on shrewd recruitment across all levels, but haven’t yet reached a level where they can retain top players for multiple years and build a core group who have ambitions exceedingly their existing heights as one.
Their 4-0 away humbling by Roma in their Europa League last-16 first leg tie this month would’ve further cemented that idea, especially at a time where admirers continue glancing at him suggesting he’ll take a job more suited to those intense pressures. Although they were 1-0 winners in the return leg, damage was done.
The club’s chief executive Paul Barber publicly accepted as much recently, saying sooner or later Roberto will have to accept an offer “for the sake of his career,” and he won’t be short of advances once the Premier League campaign ends on May 19.
Said to be earning €5m (£4.2m) a year, the highly-rated head coach – who counts Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk among his former employers – has a €13m (£11.1m) release clause in his contract – one which doesn’t expire for another two seasons.
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 