Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi reportedly has no interest in replacing Graham Potter as Chelsea manager.
After just over three years in charge at the Amex Stadium, Potter decided to replace Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea boss in September, with De Zerbi appointed as his successor on the South Coast.
However, Potter now finds himself out of work following his dismissal by the West Londoners on Sunday evening after less than seven months in charge.
The 47-year-old – who had previously established Brighton as a top-10 club in the Premier League – won only 11 of his 31 games as Chelsea boss in all tournaments and has left the Blues languishing in 11th place in the table, 12 points behind the top four.
A host of names have been linked with the Chelsea managerial vacancy including De Zerbi, who has successfully steered Brighton into the mix for European qualification this season.
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The Italian's attractive brand of football has impressed Seagulls supporters and his side are flying high in sixth place in the Premier League standings, six points above Chelsea and seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who have played three games more.
Brighton also have an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley to look forward to later this month after beating Middlesbrough, holders Liverpool, Stoke City and Grimsby Town en route to the last four.
De Zerbi – who has lost just one of his last 14 games as Brighton boss in all competitions – is under contract at the Amex until the summer of 2026, although the rumour mill has linked him with a couple of high-profile jobs in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, the 53-year-old is understood to have already ruled himself out of the running to replace Antonio Conte at Tottenham, and the Evening Standard reports that he will not consider joining Chelsea as he intends to stay put at Brighton.
Meanwhile, journalist Fabrizio Romano states that clubs interested in appointing De Zerbi would have to pay a fixed amount in excess of €10m (£8.8m) to lure him away from Brighton, but any potential deal could only be done in the summer.
On Monday, De Zerbi expressed his disappointment at Potter losing his job at Chelsea and thanked his predecessor for the work he achieved at Brighton.
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"I'm really sorry (for Potter). It's bad news for the coaches. I think you give too much importance to the coaches because the players are always most important," De Zerbi told reporters at a press conference.
"I don't like when the coaches are sacked because the responsibility is not only of the coaches – (it is also) the players, the club. In Italy we are used to changing a lot of coaches every season. In the Premier League it's different but I think it's changing also in the Premier League.
"I think the coaches are not so important like the people think – when you win and when you lose. The coaches can give the players mentality, ideas, a style of play, but if you speak about results you can achieve the results with the quality of the players and not only the quality of the coaches."
The Italian added: "I want to say thanks to Graham Potter. I have a team with a very good attitude and mentality. It is difficult when you don't know the situation or another dressing room.
"I don't like speaking about other teams and coaches. I am sorry because when there are these situations they are sad."
Chelsea are allegedly looking to appoint a new manager before their Champions League quarter-final tie away against Real Madrid on April 12, with Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino – two managers currently out of work – among the current frontrunners to replace Potter.
Oliver Thomas
