Premier League club fear manager could leave amid Barcelona, Liverpool links

With Xavi Hernandez standing firm on his decision to leave Barcelona at the end of the season, the club are scouring the market for a replacement.

One of the names most prominently linked with the Blaugrana as an option to take over as manager is Brighton & Hove Albion’s Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian is regarded highly at Can Barça for his style of football and ability to nurture youngsters, while he would come with Pep Guardiola’s seal of approval.

However, De Zerbi is also being pursued by several other top clubs in Europe, including Liverpool.

Brighton fear De Zerbi could leave

Now, The Times reports that Brighton & Hove Albion are increasingly fearful that De Zerbi could leave the club in the summer amidst the interest he is attracting.

As mentioned earlier, Barcelona and Liverpool are both looking at the 44-year-old Italian tactician, while there is also interest from Chelsea.

Moreover, De Zerbi is reportedly growing disgruntled at Brighton and all these factors could compel him to consider a summer departure.

The report states that the Italian tactician is unhappy with the lack of squad depth and feels he was not backed by the club in January when he requested reinforcements amidst a host of injury problems.

As such, there is a growing concern that De Zerbi might decide to walk out at the end of the season.

Barcelona interested, but release clause a concern

As mentioned earlier, Barcelona admire De Zerbi’s work and are considering him as a candidate to take over from Xavi in the summer.

However, the release clause in his contract at Brighton & Hove Albion, said to be worth around £11 million, is seen as an issue considering their financial situation.

So, only time will tell if Barcelona do make a push for De Zerbi, with the club expected to make a decision by the end of this month.