Brighton to demand £12m plus for De Zerbi

Brighton & Hove Albion would demand a compensation figure of at least £12m if their coach Roberto De Zerbi were poached this summer, according to reports. 

The Seagulls have flourished under the Italian coach since he succeeded Graham Potter back in September 2022, the 44-year-old building upon the strong reputation he had earned after successful stints at both Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The south coast club are currently ninth in the Premier League and face Roma in the last 16 of the Europa League this week after they topped a group that also featured Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens. 

A Football Insider article this week indicated that De Zerbi is a strong contender to replace Erik ten Hag at Manchester United should the Red Devils opt for a change in the dugout, while 90 min report that the Italian is on a seven-man shortlist to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool this summer. 

However, a separate piece in The Daily Telegraph suggests that if De Zerbi does leave Brighton, his services will not come cheap - with the Seagulls likely to ask for a fee upwards of £12m to free their talented coach from a contract that runs until 2026. 

In an interview with The Athletic, Brighton's CEO Paul Barber stated that although they would prefer that De Zerbi stays, they appreciate he may want to leave in the future.

"We don't want to lose him, he is an outstanding coach, probably one of the best in the world already, and that is going to make him attractive," Barber said.

"But I think Roberto loves Brighton, he loves the club, the people, the infrastructure that we have, and there is this sense that the work he is doing is good for him as well as for us.

"But that still means at some point in the future he may choose to take that skill base that he has elsewhere - we understand that."