Roberto De Zerbi Sends Warning to Brighton As He Emerges Favourite to Replace Klopp at Liverpool

• Liverpool defeated Brighton 2-1 to move two points clear at the top of the table
• It was Jurgen Klopp’s first victory over Roberto De Zerbi in their fifth encounter
• Both managers have spoken on their futures, with Klopp's departure confirmed

Roberto De Zerbi is going through it with Brighton and Hove Albion and has issued a warning to the club over his future amid interest from top European clubs ahead of the summer.

The Italian manager took over from Graham Potter at the Amex Stadium in September 2022 after the English manager left the club and moved to Chelsea to replace Thomas Tuchel.

De Zerbi is attracting interest from top European clubs after his work with the Seagulls. Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea reportedly have him on their radar.

De Zerbi sends warning to Brighton

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The Italian is increasingly likely to leave the club. He had publicly admitted he would speak to the club and reiterated this after his first loss to Liverpool in his fifth game.

"I have another two years on my contract, to work next season at Brighton - I don’t need to extend. At the moment, we finished the discussion about contracts, but not because I have decided yet to leave," he said via The Guardian.

"My focus is on Brighton this season and the next season, but before we start the next season, I would like to speak and listen to the plan for the team - it is a serious thing. I want to know the target and what we are playing for."

De Zerbi also mentioned that he had already discussed the situation with Brighton owner, Tony Bloom.

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"In the future, we will talk again about the plan for next season, and then we will find a solution, but both the club and myself need to be happy,” he added.

The sale of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo to Liverpool and Chelsea, respectively, weakened the team and left the manager struggling to maintain the standard he had set.

Per BBC Sports, the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss has emerged as the favourite to take over the dugout at Anfield, but Klopp distanced himself from the situation. Instead, he showered praise on his colleagues.

"I told De Zerbi to keep turning the football world upside down. I will watch it from some distance. I respect so much what he's doing.

"It is incredible what he has done. Brighton have lost Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, they have lots of injuries, but he puts a team like that together. An incredible job."

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Sporting CP boss, Ruben Amorim, is also in the frame to replace Klopp at Liverpool.

Managers who could replace Klopp

Sports Brief previously analysed five managers who could replace Klopp at Liverpool after the German coach announced he would leave the club at the end of the season.

One of the top names was former midfielder, Xabi Alonso, but the Spanish manager has since confirmed he would stay at Bayer Leverkusen next season and continue their project.