De Zerbi unlikely to have convinced Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool

Brighton won just one game from the last five and The Guardian notes that Roberto De Zerbi is ‘unlikely’ to have convinced top European clubs to hire him in the summer.

De Zerbi has emerged as a solid candidate for Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, three European giants that will change their coaches in the summer.

However, Brighton’s run of poor results means none of them are yet 100% convinced about hiring the Italian tactician in 2024-25.

Brighton were held to an away 0-0 draw by strugglers Brentford on Wednesday night and following their goalless stalemate, The Guardian noted that Barça, Liverpool and Bayern are still unsure about De Zerbi.

“A month can be a long time in football. At the start of March, the Brighton manager was being linked with a move to Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Liverpool in the summer after taking Brighton to the last 16 of the Europa League,” wrote journalist Ed Aarons.

“De Zerbi admitted this week that his future on the south coast remains uncertain despite having two years left on his contract and he demanded talks with the owner, Tony Bloom, “to understand their plan”. But the manner of his side’s display in this clash of styles is unlikely to have convinced any of Europe’s big hitters that he is the manager to take them forward.”

A report from The Athletic earlier this week claimed that De Zerbi was “incredibly unlikely” to be chosen by Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp’s replacement next season. At the same time, however, new Bayern Munich director Max Eberl has a high opinion of the Italian tactician who reportedly remains a top candidate to take over at the Allianz Arena.

De Zerbi has recently refused to commit his long-term future to Brighton, but the club chief executive Paul Barber said in February that the Seagulls wanted the Italian tactician to remain in charge as long as possible.