Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have learned the compensation fee required to prise Roberto De Zerbi away from Brighton.
The Seagulls head coach is being linked with a move in the summer having impressed at the Amex.
Brighton’s form in the Premier League this season has been patchy but De Zerbi has impressed with his style of play and his side’s sixth-place finish last season which saw the club qualify for Europe for the very first time.
Liverpool are going to appoint a new manager in the summer following Jurgen Klopp’s departure, and De Zerbi is one of the names being hotly linked with the Anfield role.
The Reds are also keen on Sporting’s Ruben Amorim, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is believed to be their number-one choice to replace Klopp.
Manchester United and Chelsea, meanwhile, might be searching for a new boss with pressure mounting on Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino, respectively.
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Should any of those three clubs look to appoint De Zerbi in the summer, they will have to pay Brighton a £12million compensation package, according to The Telegraph.
The report claims that the Italian boss has ‘admirers’ at Old Trafford and ‘no decision’ has been made regarding Ten Hag’s future, despite new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe not publicly backing the former Ajax manager.
Brighton tied De Zerbi down to a four-year contract when he joined the club following Graham Potter’s exit in September 2022.
They received over £20m in compensation from Chelsea when Potter moved to Stamford Bridge, along with several members of staff.
The £12m fee is regarded as quite significant for a manager with clubs ‘reluctant’ to pay that sort of money, despite how minuscule it is when compared to the prices these clubs pay for players.
It is added that De Zerbi ‘is expected to come into the frame across Europe for clubs looking at an elite manager to bring success’.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk boss confirmed before Christmas that he is loving life at Brighton and is in talks over a new contract.
“I usually work to be happy and to enjoy and I feel very good in Brighton,” he said.
“I have a great relationship with the players, with the club, with Tony [Bloom, chairman], with Paul Barber [chief executive], with David Weir [technical director] and everybody who works in Brighton. Yes, we are speaking about the new contract but at the moment we are [only] speaking, it’s not done yet.”
Another Premier League manager that Liverpool reportedly have on their shortlist is Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou.
It was reported on Monday that Postecoglou has made a ‘decision’ on his future having been a Reds fan growing up.
The decision, according to Football Insider, is that he will not leave Spurs. Juicy.
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