Brighton & Hove Albion are on the brink of appointing Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach.
South coast club has been trying to fill the void left by Graham Potter. ChelseaSeptember 9,
De Zerbi was Brighton’s first choice from the start of the process and they have not spoken to anyone else.
Before his appointment, the 43 year-old met with Tony Bloom (Brighton owner), Paul Barber (chief executive) and David Weir (technical director).
De Zerbi is currently back in Italy. His announcement will be made sensitively due to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral tomorrow.
The primary reason De Zerbi’s appointment has taken time to finalise is that he is bringing with him all the backroom staff that he took from Saussolo to Shakhtar Donetsk to replace the coaches Potter took to Chelsea. Some of these staff may need work permits to start at Brighton.
De Zerbi has lost his club since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in July brought an end to his 14-month reign as Shakhtar’s president.
The Italian continued a pattern of success during his 14 months in charge of Shakhtar — they beat title holders Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Super Cup last September and were top of the table when the 2021-22 season was abandoned post-invasion in April.
De Zerbi was the first to do so. Sassuolo has exceeded our expectationsIn his native country, he guided them to eighth-place finishes in consecutive years. Serie A in 2020 and 2021, missing out on Europa Conference League qualification to Roma — who went on to win the competition — on goal difference in the latter.
The former AC Milan and Napoli midfielder has built a reputation for a possession-based, attacking style which, together with his record of improving teams, caught the eye of Brighton’s hierarchy.
Brighton’s next fixture is against LiverpoolAnfield, October 1.
Go Deeper
Analyzing De Zerbi and Knutsen’s tactical styles: Which one would be a good match for Brighton?
(Photo by Getty Images).
