Any club looking to hire Roberto De Zerbi – including Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea – will have to pay significant compensation, according to reports.
The Brighton manager is in high demand thanks to the fantastic work he has done with the South Coast side.
De Zerbi arrived at the Amex in September 2022 following Graham Potter’s departure to Chelsea, and in his first season finished sixth in the Premier League, qualifying the Seagulls for Europe for the first time ever.
He has kept up the good form this campaign, with his side currently ninth in the table and through to the Europa League last 16.
And that’s despite Brighton selling some of their best players, including Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister.
Unsurprisingly, De Zerbi is attracting much interest not least from Liverpool who are searching for Jurgen Klopp’s successor and could turn to the Italian should they miss out on first choice Xabi Alonso.
United and Chelsea are weighing up whether to retain Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino, with the 44-year-old on their shortlists of replacements.
And there’s also interest from Barcelona with Xavi set to leave at the end of the season, and De Zerbi has even been recommended to the Spanish giants by none other than Pep Guardiola.
But should any of these clubs make a move, they’ll have to pay Brighton at least £12million in compensation, according to The Telegraph.
De Zerbi has a contract with the Seagulls until 2026 and has notably never stayed too long at any of his previous clubs, with his longest spell being a three-year run at Sassuolo.
The £12m would be a significant fee for a manager, though not quite as much as the £21.5m Chelsea paid for Potter and his coaching staff.
For now though, De Zerbi’s focus is on preparing Brighton for their Europa League clash at Roma on Thursday evening, after which they host Nottingham Forest in the league.
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