Brighton and Hove Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi has been consistently touted as a possible Erik ten Hag replacement at Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag won his 50th Premier League game at the weekend, remarkably making Manchester United the most in-form team in the league with more victories across the past five games than any other.
It has not been pretty though, with Ten Hag having to compromise his style amid a serious injury crisis.
There has been speculation over Ten Hag’s future in recent weeks, such is the nature of the pressure-heavy Manchester United job, and one frequently speculated name has been Roberto de Zerbi.
Who has been tipping Roberto de Zerbi for Manchester United
In the main, the speculation has come from pundits, while some fans were frustrated at seeing De Zerbi’s well-drilled Brighton side win 3-1 at Old Trafford against Manchester United in mid-September.
In a column for The Mirror, Robbie Fowler has stated De Zerbi is the ‘blindingly obvious’ replacement for Erik ten Hag, and he was also tipped on ESPN by another former Liverpool man, Steve Nicol. Meanwhile former Serie A goalkeeper Sebastian Frey told Italian media outlet TV Play that the Brighton manager could succeed at Manchester United.
Then there was a report from Football Insider which alleged De Zerbi is being lined up as a successor to Erik ten Hag by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Make of that what you will.
Roberto de Zerbi United links put in perspective
Amid all the hype and speculation over Roberto de Zerbi, who has done a very good job with Brighton over the past 12 months, the form of his team over the new weeks has added a new twist to the speculation and should have his supporters sitting up and taking some notice.
Since beating Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 16, Roberto de Zerbi’s Brighton have won just one Premier League game.
This came the very next week, meaning Brighton are now six successive league games without a victory. One of these was a 6-1 hammering at the hands of Aston Villa.
Yet it is Erik ten Hag who is the one who is under pressure, despite winning four of the last five Premier League matches. Make it make sense.
Such is the wide disparity in coverage of the two clubs, Brighton and De Zerbi’s winless run does not even warrant a mention in the media, while there is a crisis at Manchester United whenever the team does not win, and sometimes even when we do.
Even despite this winless streak, De Zerbi is still being talked about as a Ten Hag replacement. It’s almost as if those backing him are not even watching the games, or even looking at the results.
Brighton are finding it a real challenge to balance their league games with the European football. This is the type of issue Erik ten Hag is used to, and comes as expected at Manchester United. It’s a lot harder when you are playing twice a week and have more injuries, less recovery time, and less time on the training pitch.
At Brighton, De Zerbi can get away with this stretch of no league wins for two months. At Manchester United, he wouldn’t, where the role of manager is a thankless task.
The Italian would just become another boss who gets chewed up and spat out by the media, who will be plotting to appoint his successor at the first possible opportunity.
De Zerbi will surely get back on track at Brighton, you would expect him to. But that doesn’t make him the answer for Manchester United, where Erik ten Hag has the team grinding out results despite a staggering never-ending injury list.
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