TOM COLLOMOSSE: Roberto De Zerbi and Brighton are thriving together, but what happens next? The Italian is unlikely to get a more hands-on role in the Seagulls’ superb recruitment strategy… and Europe’s elite clubs are circling the combustible coach
There are few better places to be in modern football than Brighton. With superstars from the pitch to the dug-out and the boardroom to the scouting department, the Seagulls have hit a sweet spot that makes them the envy of their rivals.
Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United is the club’s most high-profile game for a generation and represents the high water mark of what Brighton have achieved during Tony Bloom’s ownership. The question now is what happens next?
Roberto De Zerbi, their combustible coach, is a man in a hurry. The Italian has already tasted Champions League football with Shakhtar Donetsk and is impatient to get back to that level.
The problem is ‘impatience’ does not figure in the Brighton manual. Brighton have made it this far by being completely faithful to the smartest of plans. It means no shortcuts, no extravagance.
It means buying Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma for £14million combined and accepting they may be sold for much more.
There are few better places to be in modern football than Brighton and Hove Albion (pictured)
The Seagulls have superstars from the pitch to the dug-out and the boardroom to the scouting department, and face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday
But Mail Sport understands there are tensions between owner Tony Bloom (left) and manager Roberto De Zerbi regarding the Italian’s ambition and autonomy in the transfer market
It means replacing them with other unknown gems and so the cycle begins again.
Mail Sport revealed in March that De Zerbi was keen to have increased input into Brighton’s transfer plans after leading the club to the brink of European football.
The 43-year-old backs his knowledge of the European game and believes he can bring in the players to take Brighton to the next level.
The problem for De Zerbi is that Brighton don’t work in this way, and it is thought to have irritated him.
Under Tony Bloom’s ownership, Brighton’s method…