Technical director David Weir believes our fans will enjoy watching Roberto De Zerbi's teams play.
"It’s clear from his work at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk that Roberto’s team are attacking teams and exciting to watch,” said Weir. “He’s adaptable and plays the sort of football that Brighton fans will enjoy watching.
“There’s no secrets in football now and Roberto has clearly done his homework on us and we have on him and I think it’s a really good fit.”
Chief executive Paul Barber says there are similarities between the work De Zerbi did with Italian club Sassuolo and his new role with Albion.
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De Zerbi guided Sassuolo to successive eighth-place finishes in Serie A before a successful spell in with Shakhtar Donetsk when they won the Ukrainian Super Cup. He comes to a club that finished ninth in the Premier League last season and currently sit fourth in the table.
Asked about De Zerbi’s qualities, Albion’s chief executive said, “Roberto clearly did a fantastic job at Sassuolo competing against some very big clubs in a tough league. So there are some similarities to what he did there and what we’re trying to do on a consistent basis.
“Expectation levels always go through the roof when a new head coach comes in. We know how far we’ve come and how fast and how difficult it is to maintain the progress we have made.
“But our fans are realistic, we’re in the toughest league in the world and we have to work hard to compete and maintain our position.”