The 2023/24 Premier League season is now a thing of the past, and so is Roberto De Zerbi’s successful 20-month reign as Brighton’s boss.
The Seagulls finished 6th in the Premier League in 2022/23 and, hence, qualified to play in Europe for a historic first time this season. For this, the highly-regarded Italian is owed a debt of gratitude by Albion fans across the city and beyond.
With De Zerbi busy emptying his Amex Stadium office, the club’s focus now shifts to finding a suitable replacement to fill some pretty large shoes.
According to the safest bookies in the UK, the list of candidates isn’t short, but much will depend, if approached, on which highly-rated manager feels up to the task and is ready to take over the reins to lead the side to glory in 2024/25.
We’ll look at the potential De Zerbi replacements in this article. The betting odds we quote come from online sportsbooks available through the Safest Betting Sites guide, which means they are fully regulated sites offering safer gambling options for sports bettors. The guide’s Ian Bruce expands on this point:
“Safest Betting Sites is your guide to the best and safest UKGC-regulated betting sites. Our betting experts strive to give you regularly updated information about the best bonuses, promotions and odds while keeping you safe from non-licensed online bookmakers.”
Who are the bookmakers’ favourites to take over from Roberto De Zerbi this summer? Let’s run through the list of prime candidates.
Kieran McKenna (6/4)
38-year-old McKenna is currently one of the hottest young managerial properties in English football, having led Ipswich Town back to the Premier League for the first time since the 2001/02 season.
This season’s second-place Championship finish means McKenna has led the Suffolk club in back-to-back promotions after reaching the second tier from League One in 2022/23.
Although Kieran McKenna is the bookies’ favourite to take over at the Amex Stadium, will he want to do so? Having achieved so much success at Portman Road over a short period, will he want to continue the progress with a squad he’s moulded by testing it against the top clubs in England?
Francesco Farioli (10/3)
Farioli, a protegee of Roberto De Zerbi’s during his time managing Benevento and Sassuolo, has recently emerged as a strong contender for the Brighton managerial position.
At 35, the current Nice manager in France’s Ligue 1 is one of the younger managers in European league football, recently leading the club to a creditable fifth-place finish in his first season in charge.
The Italian, who managed in Turkey for over two years before joining Nice, is finding strong support among online bookmakers although many pundits would regard him as a “left field” replacement for De Zerbi.
The question is whether Brighton wants to continue with a foreign coach with a similar mindset or, considering The Seagulls’ faltering end to the 2023/24 season, would prefer a fresh perspective in 2024/25.
Vincent Kompany (5/1)
Few will doubt 38-year-old Kompany’s calibre to assume the management tasks at Brighton, with the Belgian highly praised for his attacking style of play with Burnley throughout the past season.
Having experienced the highs of promotion to the Premier League the previous season, Kompany’s obvious man-management skills and forward-thinking weren’t enough to keep The Clarets up.
Kompany would undoubtedly have more talent at his disposal at the Amex, and his penchant for attacking would thrill The Seagulls’ supporters.
A large question mark remains about whether he could adapt his playing style and formation should the team be experiencing a poor run of form.
Although Burnley was attractive to watch, some feel Vincent Kompany displayed a degree of naivete with his aggressive tactics.
Russell Martin (8/1)
Southampton’s Martin has led The Saints to the Championship Playoff Final this season after a fourth-place finish in the league.
Southampton’s run to the playoffs under Martin included a club-record 25-game unbeaten run, with his penchant for the high press making him stylistically suited to the Brighton manager’s position.
At 38, the former Scottish international is highly regarded as one of the best fledgling British managers in the league.
Martin’s 8/1 odds will likely mean if offered the Brighton role, the already-mentioned managers would have to turn it down. Would Russell Martin be interested, if this was the case?
After a successful first season in charge at St. Marys he, like McKenna, may rather choose to continue the work he’s already started.
Graham Potter (14/1)
Some Seagulls fans still like Potter. They believe that it was the 48-year-old Englishman’s work that provided the foundation for De Zerbi’s success after leaving Brighton for an ill-fated spell in charge of Chelsea. Potter did nothing wrong at the Amex during his previous term in charge, rather improving his already growing reputation as a manager.
Since departing Stamford Bridge, Potter has remained away from management, reputedly turning down offers from several clubs.
Would it be the right time for his former employers to invite him back for a second spell in charge at Brighton?
The bookmakers regard the chances as something of a long shot but with Graham Potter favouring a possession-based style similar to De Zerbi’s, the squad’s transition to playing for a “new” manager would be seamless.
