It does not require much investigative work to identify the likely reason for De Zerbi’s annoyance. In December, shortly before the opening of the January transfer window, he publicly declared that he wanted “three or four” signings. His squad has been gutted by injuries this season and the 44-year-old evidently saw January as an appropriate time to strengthen.
His bosses at Brighton, however, have a different view of the winter window. As a club, Brighton usually avoid doing their transfer business in January. And so, despite De Zerbi’s wishes, only one first-team signing was made, and he was a player for the future: Valentin Barco, a 19-year-old left-back from Boca Juniors.
Success in football, for any club, is about finding the right balance between the long-term masterplan and the short-term desire to win. It is a particularly pressing issue at Brighton, perhaps more than any other Premier League club, given the ambition and reputation of their manager and the careful strategies of their owner. If De Zerbi’s approach is fire, then Bloom’s is ice.
De Zerbi’s supporters would argue that the Italian has earned the right to be given a stronger squad now. They would say Brighton have an elite-level coach, but that they have not equipped him with the tools he needs following the sales of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister. On the other side, there will be many who point to the club’s successful long-term planning as a primary reason for their growth as a club.
At one point, clearly, there will be a divergence of paths. De Zerbi in one direction, Brighton in another. Vacancies are opening up at Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Barcelona this summer, and De Zerbi will have admirers within those clubs. On Friday, it was reported in the German press that De Zerbi is one of Bayern’s preferred options.
