Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas says he is a “big fan” of Brighton head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

The Italian has been tipped as a potential replacement for Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who will leave Anfield at the end of the season, and Fabregas says he has been very impressed with the Seagulls boss’s coaching methods:

“I’m a big fan of De Zerbi, I’ve said it here before, I’ve been studying him for the past three years, and he’s grown so much as a coach.”

“The first time I saw him was when we played at Monaco against Shakhtar in the qualifier for the Champions League, and I said ‘wow’ I need to follow this guy, he’s grown and grown, and what he’s done at Brighton is unbelievable.”

Liverpool are “incredibly unlikely” to appoint De Zerbi

Until recently, De Zerbi has been one of the frontrunners for the Liverpool job but, speaking on The Athletic FC podcast this week, trusted journalist David Ornstein said that the 44-year-old has been all but ruled out from replacing Klopp:

“My information is that it’s incredibly unlikely that Liverpool will go for De Zerbi. I’m being told that’s not going to happen.”

De Zerbi could, however, still move to another Premier League team in the coming months, with Manchester United and Chelsea being mentioned as possible destinations.

Talks with another manager have “taken place”

In terms of who Liverpool are interested in appointing following Xabi Alonso’s decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Ornstein said that Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim is in contention.

The former BBC reporter went as far as to say that informal talks between the Reds and the Portuguese manager have already “taken place”, with the goal of gauging his interest in taking the job this summer.

If the Merseysiders do want to hire Amorim, though, he won’t come cheap. He signed a new contract with Sporting in 2022 which reportedly included a €15m (£12.8m) release clause.