Premier League: Brighton appoints Italian Roberto De Zerbi as the new manager

De Zerbi has signed a four-year contract with the group.

The 43-year-old De Zerbi got his start as a manager in Italy's lower leagues before being recruited by Serie A Club Sassuolo, where he led them to eighth place in the 2020-21 season.

Formerly unattached, De Zerbi has found a home in Brighton. After leading Sassuolo in Serie A, he took over at Shakhtar Dontesk in Ukraine, but resigned after 14 months when Russia invaded the nation.

The main reason why De Zerbi's appointment has been dragged out is that he is bringing all of the backroom personnel from Sassuolo to Shakhtar Donetsk to replace the coaches Potter took to Chelsea. Before they can start working at Brighton, some of those employees may need to apply for and obtain work permits.

The midfielder's track record of strengthening teams and his reputation for playing an exciting brand of soccer predicated on possession attracted the attention of Brighton's management.

In a surprising move, Chelsea's new owner Todd Boehly fired manager Thomas Tuchel just a few games into the season.

Since Graham Potter left for Chelsea on September 9, the south coast team has been searching for a new manager.

Brighton's primary pick from the get-go was always going to be De Zerbi; they never even considered anyone else.

Brighton, a role model club in recent years, was initially pleased with interim manager Adam Lallana but acted rapidly to hire their preferred candidate.

De Zerbi travelled into Sussex on Friday night to catch up with club owner Tony Bloom, CEO Paul Barber, and technical director David Weir before attending Saturday's behind-closed-doors friendly at the Amex Stadium.

De Zerbi will not be publicly introduced to the media until Tuesday afternoon to show respect on the day of the Queen's funeral.

On the new change, chairman Tony Bloom stated, "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."

Pep Guardiola praises Brighton's new coach

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also gave his two cents on the new Brighton head coach. He praised the former midfielder and admired the style.

The Manchester City manager said: "Nowadays in Serie A, you see the forwards get far more service and in more comfortable areas. Italian football will always have an element of defend and counter, because that's an aspect that is admired abroad and part of your culture."

"But with the revolution of Arrigo Sacchi and lately coaches like Maurizio Sarri and Roberto De Zerbi, there are teams who play the ball more and therefore also concede more."

After the international break on October 1, Brighton will travel to Liverpool, who are fifth in the Premier League with just nine points from their first six games.