Brighton & Hove Albion are increasingly optimistic that Roberto De Zerbi will remain as head coach next season.
Senior sources, granted anonymity to protect relationships, believe the mood has shifted towards the Italian staying at the club, with two years still left on his contract.
De Zerbi has been linked with vacant posts at Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona after guiding Brighton into Europe for the first time by finishing in sixth place in the Premier League. The 44-year-old has kept the club in the top ten throughout this campaign while reaching the last 16 of the Europa League before losing 4-1 on aggregate to Roma.
Talks over a new contract have been put on the backburner and De Zerbi has been publicly non-committal about his future pending discussions with owner-chairman Tony Bloom about summer business to strengthen a squad that has been beset by injuries to key players.
GO DEEPER
Roberto De Zerbi will never bite his tongue
“This season for me has been tough,” De Zerbi said on his future. “At the beginning, my dream was different, completely different.
“When I have spoken about the club, Tony, you (the media) have not understood the right way. If I have to say something to Tony, I call him and I tell him what I want to say. For me, it wasn’t a polemic (controversy). It was my way to improve.
“Last season, I remember very well in the last game against Southampton or (Manchester) City, how many fans were happy.
“I know you are not used to hearing the truth, or people who say the truth, in a strong way but in a polite way, honestly, this season has been tough because, in the Europa League, I wanted to play in a different way with my teams. Not with other players in the transfer market. And the frustration is big for me.”
GO DEEPER
Would De Zerbi be the right kind of manager for Liverpool?
De Zerbi scored highly on the data produced by Liverpool’s analysts as they search for Jurgen Klopp’s replacement (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Brighton have dropped to tenth in the table after two wins in the last eight league games, but are still in the mix to qualify for Europe again with De Zerbi’s side five points behind seventh-placed West Ham United with a game in hand.
“I am focused to feel again, to make our fans happy for another season,” De Zerbi said. “To reach Europe and to have the chance to play in the Europa League or Conference League for another season, because I know the experience is crucial in football. I am pushing for that. I don’t know if we reach it or not.
“I have not decided to leave, it is not the right time yet to decide anything. I am frustrated, and I am disappointed for this season. But I never fight with Tony, I never fight with Paul Barber (chief executive), with my players.”
De Zerbi has further fuelled the prospect of staying by stating he wants to work with Adam Lallana and James Milner as part of the playing squad against next season.
Lallana, 35, will make a decision at the end of the season about whether to continue playing or move into coaching after three seasons at Brighton and only 12 starts in the current campaign.
Milner, who joined his former Liverpool team-mate at the Amex Stadium last summer, has been out since January. The 38-year-old has been limited by injuries to 20 appearances.
GO DEEPER
Brighton’s accounts explained: Record profit, repaying Bloom – now to keep De Zerbi happy?
“I think Adam can play another season for sure,” De Zerbi added. “The problem is the behaviour of Adam, because Adam loves playing every game and is an incredible professional, but I have to manage him in a different way as with James Milner.
“I would like to work next season with both players, because they are crucial to the improvement of Brighton for young players and they are crucial on the pitch.
“James Milner was fantastic against Tottenham at home (in December). Unfortunately, he is having a tough season (with injuries) and he has been unlucky.
“In the last period, Adam Lallana has been available every week. After that, I decided a different way, but against Roma at home, away to Manchester (United) at the beginning of the season, at Brentford he played very well for 65 minutes. They are both high-level characters.”
(Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
