Roberto De Zerbi admits he spoke to Paulo Fonseca before becoming Shakhtar coach and fuels speculations about a possible move for Sassuolo defender Marlon.
De Zerbi joined the Ukraine club from Sassuolo in the summer and has admitted he spoke to Tottenham-bound coach Paulo Fonseca before accepting the offer.
Fonseca coached Shakhtar before being appointed Roma coach in 2019.
“I spoke with Fonseca after I had signed the contract. His opinion was by no means decisive. I deliberately postponed the conversation with him for the period after signing the contract because I did not want any pitfalls. I wanted to avoid unexpected things – so that he wouldn’t accidentally tell me something bad, which, perhaps, he himself wouldn’t want to say. We talked when the contract had been signed,” De Zerbi told the official Shakhtar website.
“I’ve arrived here with a lot of enthusiasm and want to enjoy my work. I arrived at the club which I consider top-notch. The players here are very strong, and I want to instil in them my vision of play, to be a role model for them. My first impressions are great. It seems to me that everything is too beautiful to be true. I have already established a wonderful relationship with the staff of the club. The players are professionals who take their responsibilities quite seriously. I only recently had the opportunity to meet them, and I’m delighted by what I saw. There is every prerequisite for a great season.”
Shakhtar are reportedly interested in Sassuolo defender Marlon and De Zerbi admitted his new club could make a move to sign the former Barcelona defender.
“I really love each of the Sassuolo players I had the opportunity to work with. Marlon is no exception in this case. And then, by and large, it’s a question of the club – how they will decide and how they will act. Of course, when there is a search for a player for a certain position, with certain qualities, they choose from literally two or three options. It is possible that one of those three options will be Marlon.”