Roberto De Zerbi has insisted he wants to now manage in a country where he hasn’t been before after leaving Brighton and Hove Albion this summer.
The Italian manager has been speaking to Corriere dello Sport about his future after his shock decision to leave Brighton last month.
The Seagulls announced that they had made the decision to part amicably with De Zerbi, who at the time was being linked with the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
The belief was that the club and the manager had disagreed on the future direction they should be taking and so came to the decision to part ways now on mutual terms.
Most had believed De Zerbi would not be long out of work after impressing with Brighton in the last two years, taking them to Europe for the first time with an exciting, attacking brand of football.
However, he has been forced to sit and watch as jobs have come and gone, with Bayern Munich hiring Vincent Kompany, Barcelona going with Hansi Flick and Chelsea taking Enzo Maresca from Leicester.
Other options have also fallen by the wayside, with the likes of Manchester United deciding to stick by Erik ten Hag and Liverpool appointing Arne Slot to succeed Jurgen Klopp.
It now remains to be seen what happens to the Italian, and he’s provided a hint on that front, insisting he wants to head somewhere completely new.
“I would like to go and coach in a country I have never been to,” he said.
“I have always appreciated Claudio Ranieri and I believe that discussing this also helps to improve, the good thing is to change by giving the same mentality in different places.”
That next destination could be France, and specifically Marseille, with various reports indicating as much.
Sport Italia report that De Zerbi is now close to an agreement with the French side, with the Italian manager accepting their proposal and matters accelerating quickly from there.
A deal is now close and the Italian could be set to get the move to a new country after all, ending his short break post Brighton.
