The media reacts to Roberto De Zerbi's appointment

Local and national journalists believe Albion supporters should be excited about the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian held his first press conference as head coach on Tuesday, and while he spoke for a majority of the time in Italian, he said he hoped to be fluent in English by January.

Despite the language barrier, it’s fair to say those media attending were impressed.

Andy Naylor – The Athletic

I think Albion supporters should be excited about him. It’s an intriguing and exciting appointment when you look at his CV and his background, the fact that he has developed in his home country coming up from Serie D. He did really well at Sassuolo and nearly got them into Europe, but he also has that experience of working in Ukraine that very unfortunately ended as a result of the war. He comes here with a very possession-based style of football which is a natural follow-on from Graham Potter. It’s exciting to see him in the Premier League.

In a way it’s quite interesting because most managers get the job because the previous person has struggled and lost theirs, but this is the opposite. You can look at that in one of two ways and say that it leaves little room for improvement. On the other hand I am sure any head coach would love to come into the Brighton job in these circumstances with the squad, which includes a number of internationals, and a good mix of ages. It’s a very good job for your first one in England.

The club is on an upward trajectory and achieved a record high finish in the Premier League and are fourth as we speak. Why meddle with that? Why not try and stick to that path by bringing in a head coach with a similar approach?

Nick Szczepanik – Freelance journalist

Roberto’s appointment is very interesting. We saw enough personality and got an idea of someone who is very passionate and very organised. Tony Bloom made a point of saying that Roberto has done a lot of research on the club and Tony has filled him in on important historical points that any Albion coach needs to know. He’s going to start with a good grounding and everything seems very encouraging.

My excitement is in the upper reaches at the moment. The other exciting thing is that we’ve got this break and then a relatively short amount of time before the World Cup so there is a good opportunity for him to get to know the players who aren’t away on international duty. I am intrigued and it’s going to be interesting to see what changes he makes, but he gave the impression that he’s not going to change too much and why would you at the moment. I was impressed.

You look at some of the fixtures in October and see them as a free hit whoever was manager, even Graham Potter might have been thinking that. But I look at our group of players and think there’s nowhere we can’t go without a chance of getting points.

Johnny Cantor - BBC Sussex

Some people say don’t judge a book by the cover. But if the style of football under Roberto De Zerbi is anything like his appearance, his exact manner and clear message, Albion fans could be in for a treat.

He came across as thoughtful and passionate. He had a steely look in his eyes at times but also showed a humorous side. The proof is always in the results but the new head coach was impressive and his attention to detail in his approach and research suggest Tony Bloom and his management team may have pulled off another excellent appointment.

Richie Mills – Sussex Live

If you look at his body of work it’s very impressive, especially what he achieved at Sassuolo where he had to operate on a limited budget and did a good job – that suits the modus operandi of Brighton in the Premier League. If you look at the plaudits that have come his way from Pep Guardiola it’s clear that he’s a bit of a pioneer and trailblazer so there’s excitement about what he can bring.

Tony Bloom and Paul Barber spoke about how they didn’t want a complete change going from Graham Potter to the next head coach, so the foundation is very much laid and Roberto can build on that success.

Adrian Kajumba – The Daily Mail

I was impressed by his confidence, he was listening to questions which weren’t in his first language but he interjected when he wanted something translated slightly differently which I liked. He seems very comfortable with what he’s going to bring to the club and I find that interesting because Graham Potter did so well, so there’s got to be an element of confidence in the person that follows that. I would argue it’s a tougher job to take on than if the club wasn’t doing well. He deserves respect for looking at Brighton and believing that he can continue to positively improve them given where they are at the moment.

It was interesting to hear him talking about the similarities between him and Graham Potter. In some ways you think it might be seamless in terms of the players being able to carry on with the good things that they have been doing which Roberto suggested he liked, but that he also wanted to bring his own tweaks to the team which is what happens whenever a club changes manager.

He is obviously confident and backs himself to improve the club and keep them on the upward trajectory. There’s the willingness to talk openly about what Graham did, he wasn’t hiding from what Potter achieved and wasn’t afraid to say how he thinks he can improve things. Now it’s about how that transpires on the pitch.

Paul Hayward – Author and former chief sports writer for The Daily Telegraph

There’s no denying the shock to the system of Graham Potter leaving, but what Brighton fans wants to see is a manager come in with authority, presence, a track record, an idea – it’s the same idea that the club already has, they have the same style of positive, attacking play. The players and fans will be reassured by that.

I was impressed by him at his press conference, he’s already set himself the target of learning to speak English fluently by January. He’s completely in line with what the club have been trying to do for several years now, he doesn’t sound daunted at all by being in the Premier League for the first time in any way. He sounds like a strategist, a planner, someone who the players will take to. All the data the club will have analysed will have suggested that he has the credentials to keep Brighton in the top ten of the Premier League which is still the club’s objective.

You can do all the homework you like on Premier League football, and he’s clearly talked to a lot of people about it. It’s interesting that Pep Guardiola endorsed the club to him and has been an influence. That suggests he’s well connected and talking to the right people. Every manager who comes into the Premier League for the first time finds it surprising because of the intensity, the tribal nature of it and the sheer relentlessness of how the games are.

Every single game is a test of your character, concentration, energy, willpower and organisational strength. He may well feel that he’s seen that before in Italy – in England we tend to big up the Premier League, we tend to think it’s going to be a culture shock for him at first and it may well be for him. But he’s a guy who is clearly thinking ahead and he probably has a plan for all of this because his knowledge I am told is extremely high. He’s done an awful lot of homework and research and he’s as well prepared for that ‘shock’ as anybody can be.