Brighton CEO stated his plan for life after Roberto De Zerbi amid Liverpool and Bayern Munich merry-go-round

Another week has almost passed by and Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has been linked with another five different clubs.

The Brighton boss has a contract with the Seagulls until June 2026 and is busy preparing his team to face Liverpool at Anfield this Sunday.

De Zerbi reportedly has a release clause of around £12m at Brighton but that has not prevented top clubs from the Premier League and across Europe from sounding out the Italian.

Liverpool continue their search to replace Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season, while Man United, Napoli and Barcelona all continue to be mentioned. Bayern Munich is a another rumour that has gathered pace this week as they seem to be locked in a battle with Liverpool for the Bayer Leverkusen boss – and former Liverpool and Bayern Munich player – Xabi Alonso. The speculation merry-go-round looks set to continue for some time but Brighton CEO and deputy chairman Paul Barber previously stated that Brighton will be well-prepared to replace De Zerbi – if and when the time comes.

Speaking just weeks after the appointing the Italian – as he replaced Graham Potter in September 2022 – Barber said they were already searching for De Zerbi’s successor.

"It sounds strange but almost as soon as new manger comes in we are looking for the next one,” said Barber Speaking to Sky Sports in October 2022.

“Such is football and such is the nature of it. We did not expect to lose Graham when we did and we put a lot of work into the type of manager we wanted to replace him.

"We are looking at the style of play of coaches all over Europe. What resources they are working with and what results they are getting from those resources.

"We then form a shortlist and that shortlist becomes very important at a time just recently when Graham left us.”