Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi has been urged by Stan Collymore to ‘ignore’ reports suggesting he could replace Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 43-year-old Italian coach took charge of the Seagulls in September last year following Graham Potter’s switch to Chelsea and so far he has been a resounding success.
Brighton currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League table and the manager is arguably doing a better job at the helm than his predecessor.
As a result of De Zerbi’s team’s excellent form, he has attracted the interest of Tottenham’s director of football Daniel Levy, who is thought to be a big fan of the Italian.
Speculation is surrounding the future of Spurs’ current boss Antonio Conte, who is currently recovering back home in Italy after having an operation.
Conte is generally not the kind of manager who sticks around for long, so if his team miss out on the top four this season, he may opt to leave the club.
Indeed, the former Inter and Juventus manager’s contract in North London is set to expire in the summer, so there is a good chance he could depart.
As a result, Spurs are already on the hunt for a replacement, with De Zerbi thought to be one of the strongest candidates.
However, former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Collymore has urged the coach to stay where he is and concentrate on taking Brighton to the next level.
Speaking to CaughtOffside, he said: “When you’ve got a really good support network behind you like the one De Zerbi has at Brighton, a manager should take advantage of it and use his time to really learn his trade.
“Although he’s doing brilliantly since he took over from Graham Potter, there’s still a lot of hard work ahead of him. He’s got a big challenge on his hands.
“He needs to make sure his Brighton squad finish the season strongly and gets into one of those European spots.
“What I will say though is, out of all the teams we’ve seen over the years break into European football, Brighton looks like the team to have the best chance.
“So, I think De Zerbi should bide his time, turn down any opportunities to jump ship quickly, including to Spurs, and instead keep doing what he’s doing because if he can succeed at Brighton, the offers will keep coming anyway so there is no need to rush.”
Indeed, if De Zerbi can help Brighton qualify for a spot in the Europa League or Europa Conference League this season, it would represent a monumental…
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