Roberto De Zerbi’s press conference on Saturday morning was supposed to be a normal pre-match presser ahead of Brighton’s upcoming match against Liverpool. Instead, it became all about his future at the club.
At this press conference, De Zerbi revealed that he has no plans “at the moment” to sign a new Brighton contract. “Signing a new deal at Brighton? At the moment, no,” the the 44-year-old manager said.
“We have a contract, but [the contract] is not a problem. The problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision of what to do in the future. For me, I have not decided yet what is my future.”
“I want to speak to Tony Bloom about the plan for the club in order to decide my future, I want to know what is the project. I want to keep my ambition. If I’m not motivated, I won’t stay at Brighton,” De Zerbi explained.
These are worrying quotes to hear for Brighton fans as it’s the first time De Zerbi has publicly acknowledged that he could be somewhere else this season. Reports from Germany say Bayern Munich have already made contact with the Italian to replace Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. Liverpool are also interested in De Zerbi now that Xabi Alonso is off the table.
To make matters worse, De Zerbi also gave a semi-goodbye message to Brighton fans during his pre-match comments. “My relationship with my players [and Brighton] fans can’t change depending on my future. What we did is history. One can’t forget it,” the Seagulls boss said.
Reading between the lines of De Zerbi’s comments, it’s clear that he wants to see more ambition from Brighton’s ownership. Tony Bloom, Brighton chairman, has long favored slow and steady growth over spending big and chasing lofty heights. De Zerbi obviously feels differently.
Since De Zerbi joined the club in 2022, he’s not been shy about publicly asking the club for reinforcements. These calls have grown louder and louder as De Zerbi’s time on the South Coast grew longer. It now seems like he’s had enough and is ready to move on.
Some fans are hopeful that the club could keep De Zerbi around by spending big in the summer. For example, reports from Italy say the Seagulls are preparing a bid for Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli in an effort to keep De Zerbi. We wouldn’t be so hopeful though.
Brighton have been in this exact same situation before with multiple managers. Lack of ambition cost Gus Poyet his job over a decade ago, among other things. It was also a contributing factor for why Graham Potter left the club in 2022.
Tony Bloom has let go of good managers before. We don’t expect him to change his stripes now. De Zerbi will probably be gone this summer. The question we should be asking now is where he will go.
