told Brighton’s players that Roberto De Zerbi will be ’s next manager, according to reports.
De Zerbi has done a superb job since taking over from 13 months ago as he guided Brighton to a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League last season and secured European football for the first time in the club’s history.
Brighton are also regarded as one of the Premier League’s most eye-catching sides under De Zerbi, who has also coped with several key players leaving his squad including and Moises Caicedo.
According to , after City played at the Amex Stadium in May, Guardiola was speaking of a few of the Brighton players in the tunnel when he nodded in De Zerbi’s direction and said, ‘that’s the next Man City manager’.
The report claims that De Zerbi is ‘greatly admired’ by City’s hierarchy, although the prospect of extending Guardiola’s contract, which expires in the summer of 2025, cannot be ruled out.
Speaking ahead of City’s clash with Brighton on Saturday, Guardiola reiterated his admiration for De Zerbi and the Italian’s style of play.
‘I think I admire him for the fact it doesn’t matter the team he plays, he proved you don’t have to be in a top, top, top club or with top, top exceptional players to make your team play how you like to play,’ Guardiola said.
‘He came from and the way he plays is a little counter-cultural and it doesn’t matter what happens.
‘He plays [with] Sassuolo and teams who may not be considered the top, top, top ones, it doesn’t matter, [we] have the ball we are going to play, to play, to play.
‘I’m a spectator mainly as a manager and I enjoy a lot watching his teams play, I learn, like it and what he does makes sense.
‘It’s not a surprise the success his teams have because he is playing deservedly.
‘Even when they lost to Villa, he plays his own style, it doesn’t matter transitions, deflections, Aston Villa, a top side this season for the quality they have with the manager and players, but they do [play], it doesn’t matter.
‘Tomorrow will be an example. It will be one of the toughest tests we have this season. We’ll try to go for it.’
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