Brighton & Hove Albion 'set to appoint Roberto De Zerbi as new manager'

Brighton & Hove Albion are reportedly close to reaching an agreement with Roberto De Zerbi for him to become the club's new manager.

The Seagulls have begun the process of finding a successor to head coach Graham Potter, who left the Amex Stadium after just over three years in charge to take over at Chelsea last week.

A number of different managers have been linked with the vacancy on the South Coast, but 43-year-old De Zerbi has recently emerged as the bookmakers' favourite.

A recent report claimed that Brighton had scheduled a meeting with the Italian earlier this week to hold discussions over their managerial vacancy.

The likes of Bodo/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen, Celtic's Ange Postecoglou, Nottingham Forest's Steve Cooper and Mainz 05's Bo Svensson are also believed to be on Brighton's radar.

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Despite reported interest from Juventus, journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that talks between the Seagulls and De Zerbi have progressed quickly over the "last few hours" and both parties are optimistic over reaching an agreement.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Daily Telegraph claims that negotiations between De Zerbi and Brighton have now reached an advanced stage.

Brighton allegedly regard De Zerbi as the ideal candidate to replace Potter as he is keen to deploy and attractive brand of football and help develop young players, which fits into the club's philosophy going forward.

It is understood that De Zerbi admires the attitude and mentality of the Brighton players and he has been keeping a close eye on the club's progress in recent years.

Born in Brescia, De Zerbi was an attacking midfielder in his playing days and was somewhat of a journeyman, representing 13 different clubs including AC Milan and Napoli.

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The Italian has since been a coach for the last 10 years, but he has been out of work since he stepped down from his post at Shakhtar Donetsk in July following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

De Zerbi won 20 of his 30 games in charge of Shakhtar and guided them to success in the Ukrainian Super Cup final last season.

He previously spent three years in charge of Serie A side Sassuolo, who secured successive eighth-placed finishes in 2019-20 and 2020-21 during his tenure.

Brighton currently have Under-21s boss Andrew Crofts in interim charge of the first team, but a new head coach could be appointed in time for their next game after the international break when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on October 1.