Brighton & Hove Albion have announced the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach, subject to the granting of a work permit.
The 43-year-old has agreed terms on a four-year contract at the Amex Stadium and he succeeds Graham Potter, who left the club after just over three years in charge to join Chelsea last week.
De Zerbi, who becomes the first Italian to manage Brighton, flew into Sussex for the first time on Friday to finalise terms before watching a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A plethora of names were linked with the managerial vacancy on the South Coast, but the Seagulls believe that De Zerbi is the right man to take the club forward.
As a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last Thursday, Brighton have confirmed that they have delayed De Zerbi's formal introduction to the media until Tuesday afternoon, the day after Her Majesty's funeral.
Speaking to Brighton's official website on De Zerbi's appointment as head coach, chairman Tony Bloom said, "I am absolutely thrilled Roberto has agreed to become our new head coach.
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"Roberto's teams play an exciting and courageous brand of football, and I am confident his style and tactical approach will suit our existing squad superbly."
Technical director David Weir added, "Roberto has shown his undoubted ability with his work in Italy and Ukraine, and what he achieved at Sassuolo certainly stands out.
"In his short spell with Shakhtar he enjoyed further success, leading the club to cup success and topping the Ukrainian league before the war brought an abrupt halt to his time there.
"We are delighted to welcome Roberto and we look forward to introducing him to our squad as well as providing all the support he needs to introduce his coaching philosophy and help the players continue their brilliant start to the season."
Deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber added, "We looked at a range of excellent candidates but Roberto was our number one choice from the start and the only person we spoke to.
"It's no secret our chairman is constantly monitoring potential coaches, both here in our domestic leagues, throughout Europe and across the world as part of our succession planning work.
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"We feel Roberto is the ideal cultural and technical fit for Brighton & Hove Albion, and the right person to continue the club's progress and work with this outstanding group of players."
Born in Brescia, De Zerbi was an attacking midfielder in his playing days and he began his career with AC Milan before going on to represent 12 other clubs including Napoli.
The Italian has since been a coach for almost 10 years, although he has been out of work since July when he resigned as manager of Shakhtar Donetsk amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
De Zerbi gained Champions League experience during his brief spell in charge of Shakhtar and he won 20 of his 30 games as well as the Ukrainian Super Cup.
He previously spent three seasons in charge of Serie A outfit Sassuolo, who secured back-to-back eighth-placed finishes in 2019-20 and 2020-21 during his tenure, narrowly missing out on European qualification on both occasions.
De Zerbi will take charge of his first game as Brighton head coach after the international break when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League on October 1.
