Brighton are on the lookout for another manager following the announcement on the 18th of May that Brighton had reached a mutual agreement with De Zerbi to terminate his contract following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, following a decent debut season in Europe albeit with an underwhelming 11th finish.
With that being said, Brighton will want to appoint a manager who will help them continue their upward trajectory as a club. Here are the top five contenders to replace De Zerbi at Brighton
Next Brighton Manager Odds
Manager | Odds | Chance |
Graham Potter | 4/6 | 60% |
Martin Russell | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Kieran McKenna | 8/1 | 11.1% |
Liam Rosenior | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Steve Cooper | 14/1 | 6.7% |
Carlos Corberan | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Mauricio Pochettino | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Ruben Amorim | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Will Still | 25/1 | 3.8% |
Kjetil Knutsen | 25/1 | 3.8% |
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Next Brighton Manager Favourites
Graham Potter - 4/6
It couldn’t happen again, could it? Potter previously managed Brighton from May 2019 to September 2022 where he not only brought them to 9th place finish in the league, he also systematically transformed the club’s style of play into an attacking progressive possession-based outfit. His record with the club saw him poached for the Chelsea job in September 2022.
Despite his credentials when he took the role, Potter was sacked as Chelsea manager back in April following a 2-0 defeat to Aston Vila, after his side struggled for goals (like it was at Brighton) with a record of 12 wins, 8 draws and 11 defeats from his 31 matches a win ratio of only 38.7% was the worst at the club since Hiddink’s record of 35%. Although it could be more of an indictment of the club and not Potter given the managerial record pre and post-Potter in recent seasons.
Potter despite being sacked by Chelsea, is very much the perfect fit for Brighton, a pragmatic coach who is extremely innovative with his tactics and coaching methods his favoured formation is a back three – usually in a 3-4-3 with two number 10s behind one striker, in or a 3-4-1-2 with one 10 behind two centre-forwards.
Potter and Brighton are a match made in heaven and it seems more than likely than not that both parties are set to work together again.
Russell Martin- 6/1
The second favourite for the Brighton job is Southampton manager Russell Martin at odds of 7/1 suggesting a 14.3% chance of him being the next man in the Brighton dugout.
Russell (38) before embarking on his coaching journey had a 15-year professional career and over 570+ games after coming through the Brighton Academy from 203-2004 although he didn’t make a professional appearance for the club.
He commenced his coaching career with spells at MK Dons (2019-2021) where he got them promoted from League 2 in the 18/19 season, Swansea (2019-2021) before being appointed as Southampton manager in June 2023 and he brought them promotion in his first season in the 2024 playoffs.
Martin's style of management has been influenced by the likes of Chris Hughton, Daniel Farke, and Pep Guardiola. Tactically, he prefers the 3–4–2–1, 3–5–2, 4–1–2–1–2, or 4–3–3 formations, with an emphasis on passing the ball and pressing the opposition.
Given his tactical philosophy and history with the club, he would be a strong fit for the role, but I suspect his time hasn’t come quite yet.
Kieran McKenna - 8/1
The third favourite for the Brighton job is the latest managerial “hot property” in England Northern Irishman Kieran McKenna at odds of 8/1 suggesting a 11.1% chance of him being the next man in the Brighton dugout.
McKenna commenced his managerial career working in the Tottenham Academy before he was poached for the Man United Academy in 2016. Following some work for the United academy including guiding them to the Premier League Northern Division title. He was then appointed to the Senior staff by Jose Mourinho along with Michael Carrick.
Following the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2021, a month McKenna had departed signings a 3.5-year deal with Ipswich. McKenna's arrival saw a quick upturn in Ipswich's form, with the team's results and performances much improved. Ipswich won 7 of his first 10 games keeping 7 clean sheets. They went unbeaten in 11 games from February to March including setting a new club record for not conceding a goal, surpassing the previous record of 547 minutes. However, he had to settle for an 11th finish
However, he then guided them to back-to-back promotions coming 2nd in League 1 in the 22/23 season, which was followed by another 2nd finish in the Championship to become the first side since Southampton to achieve back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League.
His record speaks for itself and has seen him linked with the Man United and Chelsea jobs, but recent reports suggest he is set to sign a new deal with Ipswich.
Liam Rosenior - 10/1
The fourth favourite for the Brighton job is Free Agent Liam Rosenior at odds of 10/1 suggesting a 9.1% chance of him being the next man in the Brighton dugout.
Rosenior (39) had a 14-year professional career which included 3 years with Brighton at the end of his career from 2015-2018. He then took up an assistant coach role with the club's U23 side before moving on to work with the Derby First Team under Wayne Rooney and briefly worked as the club interim manager before he left the club
Having been appointed as Hull's manager in November 2022, he initially did very well being nominated for Manager of the Season. However, he was controversially sacked on the 7th of May 20224 despite guiding them to a 7th finish in the league with the owner critcising the lack of “attacking football”.
Rosenior is a highly-rated coach and lost very little from his strange sacking but it would be difficult for him to go from the sack at Hull City to taking a big role with Brighton.
Outside Chance
Mauricio Pochettino - 20/1
The fifth favourite for the Brighton job is another Free Agent in Mauricio Pochettino at odds of 20/1 suggesting a 4.8% chance of him being the next man in the Brighton dugout.
Unlike others on this list (with respect), Pochettino requires even less of an introduction following spells at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham and PSG where he brought a distinctive attractive style of football won 3 trophies with PSG but most impressively brought Tottenham to the 2018-19 Champions League Final where they finished runners-up to Liverpool.
Pochettino became the most recent casualty of the poison chalice that is the Head Coach role at Chelsea following the conclusion of the Premier League season. Although he was removed, following a 6th finish, it seemed strange with the club's fortunes looking brighter having only lost 1 game and winning 8 of their last 14 in the league from February.
I think “Poch” would be a brilliant fit for Brighton, but I reckon he may be holding out for “bigger and better” things following links with the Man United role.
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