‘We are aware’… Club chief says he knows people want to hire his manager, Chelsea are considering him

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One club chief has now claimed that he is aware his manager is a popular figure for sides looking to make a change at the helm.

Brighton CEO Paul Barber has now told The Athletic that he acknowledges a number of sides are considering bringing in Roberto De Zerbi after the impressive job he has done at the Amex.

De Zerbi is currently overseeing a side who have drastically overachieved in the last two seasons. He is currently preparing for a huge European tie against Roma.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are considering making a change before the end of the season when it comes to their current boss, Mauricio Pochettino.

It has been claimed that there are some on the board who are in favour of a sacking, however there is a divide when it comes to the all-round verdict.

A number of names have been mentioned as potential candidates the club are considering, however De Zerbi is a name that continues to crop up.

Brighton CEO on De Zerbi

Barber has claimed that he is more than aware some big sides will be looking at the Italian very soon.

He said: “We don’t want to lose him, he is an outstanding coach, probably one of the best in the world already, and that is going to make him attractive.

“But I think Roberto loves Brighton, he loves the club, the people, the infrastructure that we have, and there is this sense that the work he is doing is good for him as well as for us.

“But that still means at some point in the future he may choose to take that skill base that he has elsewhere — we understand that.”

“Off the field, because what he is doing is so attractive, so high profile, so talked about, it then creates risk for us in a different way in that Roberto becomes very desirable. But we are aware of that and I have said for years now, the better we do, the higher profile our people become on and off the field, and ironically the more vulnerable we become to losing them.

“But we know that and we are not stupid. We understand it, but we are confident in our ability to keep people. The contracts are good, the mechanisms to secure the contracts are good. If people are poached they don’t go quickly, or cheaply in some cases, and we always look to a plan that we have in place for that eventuality.”

Chelsea have reportedly also been considering Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim for the role, with him enjoying a very successful spell so far in Portugal.