Brighton have confirmed the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach.
The former Sassuolo boss has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League side.
“The 43-year-old Italian agreed final contractual terms with the club late on Sunday afternoon, having first met Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and David Weir in London earlier this week,” the Seagulls said in an official statement.
“He flew into Sussex for the first time on Friday night and watched a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Amex on Saturday afternoon.”
As a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II, the club won’t introduce their new coach to the media until Tuesday afternoon.
“I am absolutely thrilled Roberto has agreed to become our new head coach. Roberto’s teams play an exciting and courageous brand of football, and I am confident his style and tactical approach will suit our existing squad superbly,” chairman Tony Bloom said.
De Zerbi spent three years in charge of Sassuolo before signing with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2021.
He terminated his contract with the Ukrainian side following the beginning of the war in February.
He won 43 of his 120 games in charge of Sassuolo from 2018 until 2021.
He had emerged as a possible replacement for Max Allegri at Juventus, but the Bianconeri seem unwilling to sack their coach despite a disappointing start to the season with two wins and three defeats in nine games across all competitions.
De Zerbi will make his Premier League debut after the break in an away clash at Liverpool on October 1.
A fantastic appointment for the Seagulls! Welcome, Roberto!!
Good move for him. Brighton play better football than the 7/9 and would take them to the cleaners with ease. Exposure in the biggest league might lead to bigger and better things. He is sensible and did not let the rumours of the 7/9 get to his head. It would have been a Pirlo part 2 with no support. PhD Plonker can rest easy that a new contract renewal is right around the corner after the Monza masterpiece.
Allegri pwns your 3 brain cells.