Stan Collymore has written in CaughtOffSide that Roberto De Zerbi should not leave Brighton and Hove Albion for Tottenham Hotspur anytime soon.
The former Liverpool striker believes that De Zerbi should stay at Brighton and continue to learn his trade instead of making the switch to Tottenham if the North London club come calling.
Football Insider reported this week that Tottenham are looking at Brighton boss De Zerbi as a potential replacement for Antonio Conte.
Conte is out of contract at Spurs at the end of the season.
De Zerbi was appointed the Brighton manager earlier this season after Graham Potter left for Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi told to reject Tottenham Hotspur
Collymore wrote: “I see there have been reports recently that Tottenham Hotspur are keeping a close eye on Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi (Football Insider).
“When you’ve got a really good support network behind you like the one De Zerbi has at Brighton, a manager should take advantage of it and use his time to really learn his trade.
“Although he’s doing brilliantly since he took over from Graham Potter, there’s still a lot of hard work ahead of him. He’s got a big challenge on his hands. He needs to make sure his Brighton squad finish the season strongly and gets into one of those European spots.
“The task next season will be to compete on all four fronts while also trying to improve, or at the very least, replicate, the season before in the league, and that’s never easy.
“What I will say though is, out of all the teams we’ve seen over the years break into European football, Brighton look like the team to have the best chance, so I think De Zerbi should bide his time, turn down any opportunities to jump ship quickly and instead keep doing what he’s doing because if he can succeed at Brighton, the offers will keep coming anyway so there is no need to rush.”
Could it happen?
In our view, Roberto De Zerbi would find it hard to turn down Tottenham Hotspur if they came calling.
Yes, Brighton and Hove Albion are an established club in the Premier League and could play in Europe next season, but Tottenham are bigger.
Leaving the Seagulls for Spurs would be a step-up for De Zerbi, who is one of the best young managers around at the age of 43.
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