'Why say no?' – Roberto De Zerbi's trusted assistant drops major hint amid Man United and Liverpool link

Roberto De Zerbi’s assistant Andrea Maldera believes his good friend and boss would love to manage at Napoli – one day.

De Zerbi has impressed during his time at Brighton and has been linked with numerous jobs this summer, including Liverpool, Man United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Some top clubs in Serie A are also believed to be keen on De Zerbi, who is contracted to the Seagulls until June 2026.

Maldera, who teamed up with De Zerbi at Brighton after six years (2015-21) as Andriy Shevchenko's technical coach for the Ukraine, feels De Zerbi would be tempted with a return to Italy in the future.

“De Zerbi at Napoli? He is in love with Italy,” said Maldera to Radio Goal on Kiss Kiss Napoli. “It is his country, and Napoli is among his favourite teams.

"We’re fine at Brighton. We have another two years on our contract, then if a proposal came from Italy, and also from Naples, Roberto would take it into consideration.

"I don’t know, but why say no to a place like Naples?”

De Zerbi replaced Graham Potter at Brighton in September 2022. He guided them to sixth in the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.

They topped their Europa League group – a section that included Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens – but crashed out 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 16 to Roma. Despite losing key talents Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Aliister last summer, the Seagulls are once again challenging for a top six spot this season.

The Premier League is currently paused for an international break and Brighton return to action at title-chasing Liverpool on Sunday, March 31.