Why De Zerbi announcement unlikely to change Milan minds

Roberto De Zerbi is leaving Brighton and Hove Albion by mutual consent, but Bayern Munich are the favourites to sign him, as Milan were reportedly never in contact.

The idea of having De Zerbi as the replacement for Stefano Pioli had been enticing to many Rossoneri supporters, who felt that perhaps the biggest obstacle was the release clause in his contract.

That has been removed today with a statement from Brighton confirming they are terminating the agreement by mutual consent.

However, initial reports suggest it has done nothing to change the situation with Milan, because the owners and directors never considered the ex-Sassuolo boss on their list.

Gerry Cardinale, Geoffrey Moncada and advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic seem to have their hearts set on an international coach rather than an Italian one, despite the fact foreign tacticians have struggled badly in Serie A during recent years.

De Zerbi would love Milan call

There are many reasons why De Zerbi would be thoroughly tempted by an approach from Milan, as he grew up in their youth academy and is a self-confessed supporter of the Rossoneri.

Nonetheless, the current owners never even approached De Zerbi and do not consider him one of the contenders for the bench, unlike Paulo Fonseca, Sergio Conceicao and Mark van Bommel.

Multiple sources point the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss towards Germany instead for Bayern Munich, as Thomas Tuchel will not remain.

Bayern have a history with Italian coaches like Giovanni Trapattoni and Carlo Ancelotti.