Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto de Zerbi is not the man to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid as that role belongs to Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso.
That’s according to Bernabeu Digital, a Real Madrid fan website, who aren’t interested in the Brighton coach potentially turning up at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Reports this week have indicated that De Zerbi could be an option for Real Madrid, who are yet to decide whether they want to stick with Ancelotti beyond next summer, when his current contract expires.
That could be taken out of their hands as the Italian has long been linked with the Brazil job, something that several reports have indicated he is keen to take up.
Either way, a replacement may need to be sought and De Zerbi’s impressive time at Brighton so far has apparently put him on the radar.
Bernabeu Digital dispute this, though, stating that is doesn’t make sense for anyone to ‘come up with names’ at this point in the season as there is still a long way to go and Ancelotti could even renew his deal.
They accept that ‘the stalking is on’ and he could end up as Brazil boss but even if that happens, ‘the only replacement’ for him would be Xabi Alonso.
Their argument is that while De Zerbi would offer ‘a more than good future’ if the club let him work, the reality is that the Spanish giants demand the maximum and cannot afford the luxury of letting the Italian build as he is at Brighton.
That’s not the case with Alonso, who is already proving himself at a high level with Leverkusen and ‘knows the house’ after spending some of his playing career at the club.
He is ‘perfect for the position’ and should be the ‘only name being considered’ should Ancelotti leave in the near future.
