It had all looked so bright for Brighton at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. The Seagulls had recruited well, they were heading into Europe but injuries caught up with them and Roberto De Zerbi’s relationship with the suits went sour.
Brighton picked up just six points from final 11 games as they whimpered to an 11th place finish. De Zerbi’s being linked with jobs at Man United, Napoli and AC Milan and the board now have to find a new man for the job.
We’ve asked our traders to look into the next Brighton manager odds for who could replace him. Here are the latest runners and riders.
Fabian Hurzeler
Fabian Hurzeler is the red hot favourite to take over the reins on the south coast. The young German manager is the current boss of St Pauli and guided them to the 2. Bundesliga title in 2024, earning them a return to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2011.
It would be seen as a risk for Brighton as the 31-year-old has never managed in a top-flight league, and the appointment would make him the youngest permanent Premier League manager of all time.
However, his progressive tactical style has caught the eye of the Seagulls and he could be set to make an impressive step in his career if a deal can be struck.
Graham Potter
Can you really hold a bad performance at Chelsea against Graham Potter? Not really. Although his choice of turtle neck sweaters was rather cringe it must be said.
Potter’s been out of the game for two years now and while he’s been offered a few gigs he seems to be waiting for the right opportunity. However, two years out can soon become three and he needs to get back in a hot seat. Would Brighton fans forgive him for leaving? If he got them playing nice football again and chalking up points on the board, like the last time they most certainly would.
Henrik Rydstrom
Current Malmo manager Henrik Rydstrom’s name is also linked with the vacant role at Brighton. He only joined Malmo in 2023 but has already steered them toward a league title win and a Svenska Cupen win too. The most amazing thing about his time at Malmo is that he took over a side who’d finished a lowly seventh in the league in the previous season and had been humiliated in their Europa League group, failing to win a single game.
Another possession-obsessed manager, Malmo averaged over 60% possession over the season, scoring 62 goals in 30 league games, and conceding just 27. His idea is that the opposition cannot score if they don’t have the ball. There’s a lot of passing and moving and supporting wide players at Malmo and granted there’s quite a difference in quality between Sweden’s top flight and England’s but he certainly fits the mould regarding the type of play the fans, and suits, at Brighton like to see.
Russell Martin
Martin successfully led rivals Southampton to Premier League promotion at the end of last season so the chances of him swapping one south coast beach for another looks unlikely unless he is offered a huge transfer budget to work with.
Steve Cooper
Could Steve Cooper be the right man for the job at Brighton? The former Nottingham Forest boss was sacked last year and he’s looking for his next role.
Cooper guided England to Under-17s World Cup glory in 2017 and he impressed at Forest. He’s got a solid reputation for developing players and we know how Brighton value that. It could be a match made in heaven – or on the south coast.
Slobodan Drapic
Slobodan Who? Brighton seem fond of a left-field appointment but this would be an interesting one, to say the least.
Drapic, 59, is the manager of Israeli Premier League outfit Bnei Sakhnin, who finished sixth in the current campaign. The Serbian has spent the entirety of his managerial career in Israel and would represent a big gamble if he were to be contacted about the role.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
READ MORE
- Score your football betting tips at Paddy Power News
- Next Man City manager odds: Who will succeed Pep Guardiola at the Etihad?
THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO SAFER GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
