Chris Sutton believes that Brighton fans have the right to be angry with manager Roberto De Zerbi after he warned that the club must match his ambition in order for him to stay.
De Zerbi, one of the most sought-after managers in world football, has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, especially after Xabi Alonso revealed that he will be staying at Bayer Leverkusen.
The Italian has two years remaining on his contract at Brighton and will hold discussions with owner Tony Bloom about the club’s ambition.
De Zerbi said: ‘What’s the target? For what are we playing [for]?.
‘I have already spoken with Tony and in the future we will speak about the next plan and the next season and to organise the next season and then we find the solution. We both have to be happy [about the targets] – myself and the club.’
Chris Sutton believes Brighton fans have a right to be annoyed with Roberto De Zerbi
De Zerbi, who has been linked with Liverpool, said Brighton must match his ambition
He continued: ‘I have another two years of contract and to work next season at Brighton I don’t need to extend another year or another two years. I can stay, I can work at Brighton with an extension, without an extension, nothing changes.
‘At the moment we finished the discussion about the contract but not because I decided yet to leave, no no. My focus is on Brighton for this season and the next season – but the next season, before starting that, I would like to speak and to listen to the plan of the team. I think it’s a serious thing.’
Sutton feels that De Zerbi’s comments represent a ‘come and get me’ plea to Liverpool as well as other top clubs.
With Jurgen Klopp leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, De Zerbi could well be looking to take over at Anfield. There was much focus on De Zerbi on Sunday as Brighton faced Liverpool, with Klopp”s side winning 2-1.
Sutton told It’s All Kicking Off, Mail Sport’s football podcast: ‘Well, he basically has said to, I don’t think just Liverpool, but to every club out there, come and get me. He may as well have held up a placard saying I’m available. I want out. I just think, you know, you’re a journalist, you ask managers questions and managers…answer the question.
‘So, De Zerbi’s under contract until 2026? He was asked about the situation and he could have just batted it away and said something along the lines of ‘we’re still in discussions.’
Sutton believes that some of De Zerbi’s comments regarding his future were ‘unnecessary’.
He continued: ‘But some of the stuff he said I thought was unnecessary and I would view it as loaded. He said the problem is not the contract, the problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision for the future.
Sutton stated that some of the things De Zerbi said about his future were unnecessary
Sutton suggested that De Zerbi isn’t on the same wavelength as chairman Tony Bloom
‘Now, on the face of it, some people will look at that as maybe saying, well, he’s got every right to feel that way. But as far as I can see, he’s suggesting that there, or people can read that as suggesting that there’s a problem, that he’s not on the same wavelength as Tony Bloom.’
Sutton stated that De Zerbi could easily have batted away questions about his future.
He said: ‘So why did he come out and say all this stuff? If I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t feel the right motivation, I can’t stay any longer.
‘Is he using those words as a bargaining tool to bring a better quality of player in or is he using those words to sort of say, I want out? I think he’s using those words saying, I want out, I want to move on. He’s enjoyed his time at Brighton.
‘But why on earth get involved in all that when you could just bat that away? I don’t get it. I thought that was pretty poor. If I’m a Brighton fan, I am pretty peed off at De Zerbi.’
Mail Sport’s football editor Ian Ladyman argued that De Zerbi was ‘pushed into a corner’ by being asked about the Liverpool job.
Ladyman said: ‘You know when you ask the question that you’re really asking a question that they can’t answer or they can’t answer truthfully.
‘You’re pushing them into a corner because De Zerbi, in common with many other managers back over the years, will probably want to go to Liverpool.
Ian Ladyman suggested that De Zerbi was pushed into a corner by being asked about Liverpool
‘I’m guessing, he probably will fancy going to Liverpool. But he can’t say that. But equally, he doesn’t wanna say something that will be thrown back at him by Brighton fans in three months time.
‘So he’s not going to categorically say, I just want to stay, I can’t wait to sign my contract because he knows that I’ll be chucked back at him further down the line. So he’s trying to fudge it.’
With regards to Alonso’s decision to stay at Leverkusen, Ladyman feels that he should have taken the opportunity to manage Liverpool.
In addition, Ladyman described the news as a ‘huge blow’ for Liverpool.
Ladyman said: ‘I do want to make the point that the Xabi Alonso news that came out of Germany over the weekend, which I think was hugely disappointing for Liverpool.
‘Alonso is deciding to stay for at least one more year at Bayer Leverkusen which makes him unavailable to succeed Klopp at Anfield. I think that’s a huge blow for Liverpool.’
Ladyman went on to say that Alonso was the ‘outstanding candidate’ for the Liverpool job.
He said: ‘You can look at it two ways. You can view it as loyalty and I see that. You can view it as a coach who is saying to himself, I’ve only been doing this for a year or so. I need more experience under my belt before I go and move to an elite job with the greatest respect to Leverkusen. So that’s one way of looking at it.
Ian Ladyman believes Xabi Alonso should have taken the opportunity to manage Liverpool
‘The other way is thinking, well, opportunities like this only come around every so often. Say Liverpool appoint somebody else and they do a marvellous job and are at Liverpool for five years, then Alonso’s star may be on the ground by the time five years comes around.
‘So sometimes I think you need to grab those opportunities when they arrive. But I do think it’s a huge blow for Liverpool, a really huge blow for Liverpool. He was the outstanding candidate.’
