It was not the season Roberto De Zerbi thought he would experience at the helm of Brighton. After proving to be one of the great positive surprises of the last Premier League, the Seagulls have slowed down this year, thanks to both a certain “surprise factor” which has failed and the absence due to injuries of numerous protagonists, without failing to consider the difficulties posed by the transfer market and the replacement of some valuable pieces that Brighton were unable to keep (for example, Caicedo).
In recent weeks Brighton seem to have deflated in a particular way: having abandoned the Europa League in the round of 16 at the hands of Roma coached by their friend De Rossi, not even the Premier League reserved changes of pace such as to ensure that the seagulls could repeat (or at least think of doing so) the glories of the year last. Another defeat came yesterday, a 3-0 at Bournemouth, and the league table says that Brighton are in 12th place.
And some of the main leads that promised to be able to bring De Zerbi to the bench of a great European football team as early as the summer also seem to have disappeared.: Barcelona decided to confirm Xavi after jumping through hoops, Chelsea still don’t have clear plans for Pochettino (whose dismissal, however, would cost a lot of money) and Bayern Munich seems inclined to entrust the bench to Rangnick. A potentially ideal scenario for the big Italian teams looking for a coach for next season (above all, Milan and Napoli) to be able to tempt De Zerbi, whose prospects seem to have narrowed a bit.
