Roberto De Zerbi has done an excellent job since he was appointed the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion in September 2022, guiding The Seagulls to their highest top-flight finish in his first season in charge, after taking them to just their third ever FA Cup semi-final.
This season has been Brighton’s first ever in European competition. Following De Zerbis remarkable feat of guiding Albion to 6th place, this season has been remarkably entertaining for Albion faithful. With Brighton topping their UEFA Europa League group ahead of 2018 finalists Marseille and four-time Champions League winners Ajax, they have earned themselves a round of 16 draw againstItalian giants AS Roma.
As of 27 February, Brighton are sat 7th in the Premier League and, as of writing sit ahead of the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle, and West Ham, with the Seagulls potentially heading towards another European adventure next season. This is testament to the job that Roberto De Zerbi has done in the last 18 months.
Due to the amazing job he’s been doing with Brighton, De Zerbi has inevitably been linked to many big jobs .He’s been tipped to become the next manager of FC Barcelona or Liverpool amid the recent news that Xavi Hernandez and Jurgen Klopp will both be leaving their posts as manager at the end of this season. With regards to Liverpool, there’s a chance that departing Klopp may put in a good word for the Italian, as in October 2023 – ahead of Liverpool’s trip to the south coast – he described De Zerbi’s side as the “best coached team in the league.” There has also been gossip that De Zerbi could be Thomas Tuchel’s successor at Bundesliga winners FC Bayern Munich, after it was announced that Tuchel will be leaving the Bavarians at the end of this season.
Whether Roberto De Zerbi leaves Brighton at the end of the season is dependent on clubs paying his rumoured £15 million release clause, as Brighton owner Tony Bloom would not let him leave the club if that were not to be met. In the past, clubs have not been shy to meet the release clause for one of Brighton’s managers, with Chelsea paying a world record fee of £21.5 million to the seasiders for Graham Potter and his backroom team just 18 months ago. Yet seeing as how things have turned out at Chelsea since the appointment of Potter, teams could be reflecting on this, and be a bit more hesitant to meet the release clause of a manager who hasn’t proven himself at one of the so-called ‘European Giants’.
In December, De Zerbi cooled speculation by stating that “Yes, we are speaking about the new contract, but at the moment we are only speaking, it’s not done yet.” It is likely that Roberto De Zerbi is happy to stay as the manager of Brighton and wait until a good managerial offer comes, which will benefit his career progression as one of the hottest young managers in world football currently. Brighton and Hove Albion CEO Paul Barber has said that the club are prepared if De Zerbi leaves and already have replacements in mind, with one of the candidates said to be another one of Europe’s hottest young coaches Ruben Amorim, who led Sporting Lisbon to their first league title in 19 years in 2021.
Ultimately if Roberto De Zerbi is to leave the club at the end of the season, his move will have to make sense for Brighton, and be one from which his career will benefit. It will be an interesting few months, to see whether Roberto De Zerbi will lead Brighton into 2024/25 season, and with him in the past expressing his interest in a potential move back to Italy, and with Danielle De Rossi being appointed AS Roma interim manager until the end of the season, De Zerbi could potentially be managing Brighton’s UEFA Europa League round of 16 opponents next season. Hence,this tie could be a crucial one, not just for the club’s progression in Europe, but also in terms of whether Roberto De Zerbi will stay as Brighton and Hove Albion manager next season.
