Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has responded to claims that he could take the Liverpool job next season.
De Zerbi has been put forward as one of the early front-runners as Liverpool search for Jurgen Klopp’s successor. Alongside Xabi Alonso, the 44-year-old appears to be an outstanding candidate.
But according to De Zerbi himself, he is currently fully focused on Brighton. The Seagulls were in action today, hammering Sheffield United 5-2 to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.
And in quotes via BBC Sport after that game, the Italian coach was asked about the possibility of filling the upcoming vacancy at Anfield.
“Now it is not my focus,” De Zerbi replied. “My focus is on my players, my team, my fans, my club. We have a lot of things to reach this season and then we will see [about] the future.”
De Zerbi focused on Brighton
This is of course the answer that De Zerbi was always likely to give when asked about Liverpool.
With Klopp not stepping aside until the end of the campaign, it would be remiss of any currently employed coach to start actively talking up their chances of joining the Reds.
It would do nothing but alienate their own fanbase and, potentially, Liverpool’s.
From what we’ve seen reported over the past 36 hours or so though, De Zerbi does look like a genuine option for the Reds.
As his team’s victory today suggested, he’s a coach who’s teams play football in an explosive manner. Attractive and fun to watch, it’s the kind of stuff that you can imagine going down well at Anfield.
Nevertheless, Liverpool should also proceed with caution. De Zerbi has never managed a club anything like the size of the Reds.
If we’re comparing him and Alonso, the Spaniard may be far more inexperienced, but Bayer Leverkusen are arguably bigger than any of the side’s De Zerbi has been at.
Alonso was also a far more decorated player than his Brighton counterpart. Although as Klopp masterfully showed, that doesn’t necessarily count for anything.
We expect today won’t be the last time Roberto is asked about this topic. Reporters can ask away though, the answer is perhaps unlikely to change.
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