The Brighton job is Zerbi’s first in England, but the Italian had managed clubs such as Benevento and Sassuolo in his native Italy, and had a short spell in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk last season.
Newsonline report that the 43-year-old said it was Pep Guardiola Guardiola who persuaded him to move to the Premier League, adding: “I spoke to Pep on Sunday evening, yes. He’s very happy that I’m on board here.
“He told me very good things about the club, and if I need, he will be very happy to help me – but of course not in the match we are playing against them!”
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Getting the Brighton job was made possible for Zerbi with the sacking of Thomas Tuchel by the owners of Chelsea.
Todd Boehly, Chelsea’s co-owner, had a couple of weeks ago, sacked the German boss and replaced him with Graham Potter who was in charge of Brighton.