What can FPL managers expect from Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton?

Brighton and Hove Albion were determined not to let Chelsea’s surprise capture of head coach Graham Potter derail their brilliant start to the season, where they currently sit fourth in the Premier League.

Immediately, this well-structured setup knew who to replace him with – the young and exciting Roberto De Zerbi. Murmurings of interest in Bodo/Glimt and Mainz bosses Kjetil Knutsen and Bo Svensson were quickly deemed untrue, as the Italian was appointed on a four-year deal.

With a portfolio of innovative, attacking, possession-based football from his time at Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk, the tactically astute De Zerbi feels like a good fit for the Brighton model.

So will the 43-year-old continue the great work of Potter and what Fantasy Premier League (FPL) impact will he have?

We’ll attempt to answer those questions below.

THE HISTORY

As a player, the Brescia-born De Zerbi started on the books of AC Milan but never played for the Rossoneri first team.

Loans to Monza, Padova, Avellino and Lecco were followed by a permanent move to Foggia, where the attacking midfielder scored 18 goals in 60 games.

His career was mostly as a Serie B player but he did go on to make three Serie A appearances for Napoli before spending three years in Romania with CFR Cluj.

“Maybe I was better than I showed but I got what I deserved and that was three games. I was a number ten in an era when the 4-4-2 prevailed. I wanted to have fun on the pitch. I wouldn’t willingly change my position. If I wasn’t convinced by something, I didn’t easily adapt.” – De Zerbi on playing just three times in Serie A

De Zerbi had almost 300 outings as a player but it’s as a manager where he has truly showcased his talents.

Graeme Souness might hold De Zerbi’s quick turnover of managerial jobs against him but it’s a silly jab to make at one of Europe’s most admired coaches.

After retiring as a player, he started with Serie D amateurs Darfo Boario in 2013, before beginning his quick rise up the footballing pyramid. He took over at Foggia in Serie C, winning the Serie C Coppa Italia and reaching the promotion play-off final.

Enough was done to earn him a Serie A role but the notoriously volatile Palermo owner fired him within three months after seven consecutive defeats. Not to be deterred, he was given another top-flight job one year later. Although relegated with newcomers Benevento, De Zerbi’s side earned plaudits for their attractive style of play.

Sassuolo saw potential and soon appointed him as successor to Giuseppe Iachini. The small Emilian club has similarities to Brighton – both have forced their way near the elite via well-structured philosophies that encourage attacking football, the development of young talent and a mastering of the transfer market.

This is where De Zerbi became hot property. A solid first season was followed by consecutive eighth-placed finishes, where the second saw them miss European qualification on goal difference.

Three of his Sassuolo squad were included in Italy’s victorious Euro 2020 squad – Manuel Locatelli, Domenico Berardi and Giacomo Raspadori. He also developed Stefano Sensi and Merih Demiral before their big-money moves elsewhere.

Then, after three seasons, De Zerbi decided to broaden his horizons and chose Shakhtar as the venue because they could provide the new experiences of a multi-lingual dressing room, expected trophies and regular Champions League football.

Things were going well – winning the Ukrainian Super Cup and leading the league after 18 games – until the Russian invasion ultimately terminated the season early, without a winner being declared.

PLAYING STYLE

“I am absolutely thrilled. Roberto’s teams play an exciting and courageous brand of football, and I am confident his style and tactical approach will suit our existing squad superbly.” – Brighton owner-chairman Tony Bloom

What enticed Benevento and Sassuolo to look beyond results when it came to appointing De Zerbi was his commitment to exciting football, although being part of this new wave of Italian managers has naturally brought criticism from traditionalists. They see him as a threat.

He favours a 4-2-3-1 that, from the back, uses short passes and a deep double pivot to lure opponents up the pitch, where they then either choose to hit the ball over the press or use intricate passing to progress.

In attack, they use a high defensive line and lots of pressing whilst lining up in a 2-4-4 layout. Full-backs can either overlap or start narrower to underlap, where width is provided by wide forwards that are very high up the pitch.

If it sounds similar to Pep Guardiola’s use of inverted full-backs, that’s because De Zerbi regularly speaks to the Manchester City boss and spent time watching his former Bayern Munich side train. It’s also something he did with Marcelo Bielsa’s Lille.

“I’m interested in individual skill and technique, without which you can’t keep the ball in your own half, an understanding of the game, which comes down to concepts like the right posture with which to receive a pass and being able to pass to a team-mate’s preferred foot and the courage to accept you may make a mistake.” – De Zerbi on his core principles

IS DE ZERBI A GOOD FIT FOR BRIGHTON?

As Potter has left Brighton for positive reasons, the Seagulls did not need to appoint someone with opposite beliefs. Having known for a long time that Potter was destined for higher profile roles, they had plenty of time to research and plan.

De Zerbi was their clear number one target and this speaks volumes about whether he can currently be deemed a good fit for Brighton.

However, he is keen to point out that there are a few differences between himself and Potter.

“Potter has worked very well – but I’m not Potter. I think we have a lot of things in common but I’m not talking about the systems we play. If we can keep this mentality and those principles, I can bring my ideas without making any big changes. Don’t throw the ball away. That is very important, very clear. To attack. At first sight, in my opinion, I like much more to control the game. One of the things for this team can be to control the rhythm of the game much more.” – De Zerbi on comparisons with Graham Potter

11 goals have arrived in their six games so far, which began with an opening day win away at Manchester United.

When assessing all 20 teams over the first six Gameweeks, Brighton rank fifth-best for touches in the final third and inside the penalty area. Additionally, they have an encouraging expected goals conceded (xGC) tally of 6.47.

Although influenced by the recent postponements that have created a mismatch in terms of games played, nobody has conceded fewer goals than Brighton’s five.

When using FBRef to look at 2020/21 Serie A data, it can be seen that Sassuolo were all about keeping possession.

In De Zerbi’s final season there, the Neroverdi brought in league-high totals for attempted passes, completed passes and the percentage of pass completion. It was the same for short passes up to 15 yards.

Therefore, it’s likely that the Italian will take advantage of the international break to implement this passing mentality.

FPL ASSETS THAT MAY BENEFIT

As well as in the Bonus Points System (BPS), which rewards players who achieve a high completion rate with at least 30 passes, De Zerbi’s appointment can boost the FPL prospects of several Brighton assets.

Should the current wing-back system be ditched, Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) will permanently play higher up the pitch on paper – although the Belgian was very much more about attacking than defending in Potter’s 3-5-2/3-4-2-1, so any change might not be so pronounced.

Pascal Gross (£6.0m) could be asked to play closer to the lone forward, with a double pivot of Moises Caicedo (£5.0m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.6m) there to protect the defence.

A big question mark revolves around the right-back role. Will centre-back Joel Veltman (£4.6m) move across, or will Tariq Lamptey (£4.3m) be used as a more attacking option? Solly March (£5.0m) has been the main right wing-back, so where will he be deployed?

Then again, with Liverpool (a) and Tottenham Hotspur (H) being a nasty couple of fixtures to begin with, FPL managers may just want to wait and observe.

Our Season Ticker ranks Brighton as having the second-worst fixture run until the World Cup, with even Man City’s deemed more favourable despite having a blank in Gameweek 12.

That’s why the high ownerships of Gross and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£4.7m) have begun to decrease. Yet, should De Zerbi successfully bring his brand of exciting, attacking football to the Premier League, it might not be too long until the FPL community is clamouring to bring their players back in.