Former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach Roberto De Zerbi is reportedly on the verge of joining the Premier League as manager of Brighton.
The 43-year-old tactician has been chosen as the ideal replacement for Graham Potter, who was poached by giants Chelsea following the shock dismissal of Thomas Tuchel.
De Zerbi was at the helm of Foggia, Palermo and Benevento before really finding success at Sassuolo from 2018-21.
He left when thinking he’d achieved all he could with the Neroverdi and took on a new challenge in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk.
That only lasted until February, when Russia invaded Ukraine and war shut down the football season, but he insisted on remaining in Kyiv until all his players had been moved to safety.
According to The Athletic, Brighton and Hove Albion are on the verge of finalising the negotiations to hire De Zerbi following a series of meetings.
De Zerbi had also been linked with the Juventus job, but they seem unlikely to fire Max Allegri even after today’s shock defeat to Monza.
Sensible move for him. He has time to grow and Brighton is the perfect club for him to grow his reputation. The 7/9 hate new ideas and he would have been a Pirlo part 2 with no support. PhD Hiroshima will be relieved yet soon to be rewarded for his masterpiece in Monza.