Roberto De Zerbi is to become Marseille’s new head coach, according to reports in Italy and France.
The 45-year-old left Brighton at the end of the season and was being considered by both Manchester United and Chelsea.
United have since opted to stick with Erik ten Hag, while Chelsea appointed Enzo Maresca after Mauricio Pochettino left Stamford Bridge by mutual consent.
De Zerbi was also in the running to replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich but the Bundesliga club decided on Vincent Kompany as Tuchel’s successor.
Marseille, meanwhile, have been searching for a new head coach after their interim manager, Jean-Louis Gasset, retired at the end of the season having replaced Gennaro Gattuso in February.
According to Sportitalia and RMC Sport, Marseille are now in advanced talks with De Zerbi and the Italian is on the verge of agreeing a move to the French club.
It’s understood that Marseille had been in negotiations with Sergio Conceicao, who left Porto at the end of the season, but the Ligue 1 side are now prioritising a move for De Zerbi and are in talks over a three-year contract.
De Zerbi replaced Graham Potter as Brighton manager in September 2022 and delivered an impressive first season as his side finished sixth in the Premier League, which secured European football for the first time in the club’s history.
This season, Brighton finished 11th but De Zerbi battled with several injuries to key players in his squad. In the Europa League, Brighton reached the last-16 stage where they were beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Roma.
When asked about his future after Brighton’s final game of the Premier League campaign, De Zerbi said: ‘There isn’t any club – no-one offered [anything]. At the moment, nothing.
‘I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don’t know where or when. But it was an honour to work in the Premier League.’
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