Roy Keane has expressed doubts about replacing Jurgen Klopp with Roberto De Zerbi at Liverpool, wondering about the lack of trophies he has won as a manager.
Klopp is expected to step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season and De Zerbi is among the favourites to take over at Anfield following the announcement of Xabi Alonso’s decision to join Bayer Leverkusen.
De Zerbi has inspired since joining Brighton in 2022, but has only won two silver titles in his coaching career so far. In 2016, he won the Coppa Italia Lega Pro with Foggia, before winning the Ukrainian Super Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2021.
And while Keane praised De Zerbi’s personality and the footballing taste of his teams, the Manchester United legend warned that the Italian is not yet in a position to take charge of a club like Liverpool.
“Every coach is different, he has his own personality and that’s a big advantage for him,” Keane told Sky Sports. “Sometimes when you ask a manager those questions, you expect him to be dedicated to the club, I guess a little bit. “honesty in that and doesn’t know where his long-term is.
“It’s a fear for Brighton over the coming months and years with what they’re planning. I look at his CV and there are doubts about whether he is in a position for this stage, for Liverpool I have doubts.
“Their groups play fantastic football, but I still have doubts about what they have gained by settling for this position. “Micah Richards later added: “I think Roy makes a clever comment. When I looked at his Sassuolo team in Serie A, he was smart in terms of how he needs to come to an agreement.
“He’s done a wonderful job at Brighton, once again, do you wonder if he’ll be able to do it with the more sensible players?You have coaches like [Roberto] Mancini, when he arrived [at Man City], he kept his promises. [Manual] Pellegrini, the nicest guy, Mark Hughes, all kinds of coaches who find it difficult to deal with elite players.
“You can play the football you need, try to set up the tactics you need, but they have to accept it and what he’s doing. Do you have the capacity? I think he’s already done it, it’s only if he can make the connection with the elite players.
And De Zerbi hinted that he is in a position to leave Brighton this summer, saying: “I need to talk to my club, I have a contract, but the challenge is not the contract, the challenge is to find the same plan, the same goal. “the same vision of the future.
“For me, I don’t have what my future is yet, because I have the contract, but anyway I need to talk to Tony [Bloom], my club, to understand their plan, to understand their plan, Tony’s plan. Then we made the resolution together, without any problem. “
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