Barcelona were always facing an uphill task to bring in Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi this summer due to his release clause, believed to be between €10-15m. Yet the Blaugrana may be even further from his signature, given the interest from elsewhere.
It appears that Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso will be the first choice for both Liverpool and Bayern Munich this summer, but de Zerbi is another strong candidate. In fact Sky DE have reported that if their attempt to bring Alonso is unsuccessful, then Bayern will go for de Zerbi as their second choice. Sport, who carried the report, say there was no consensus within the Blaugrana on de Zerbi at any rate, but if they had settled on the Italian, they would have to come up with an exceptional pitch.
Bayern will likely be able to pay de Zerbi’s release clause, and give him more resources to work with, as is the case with Liverpool. Barcelona are likely to be short of resources, and may have to look at cheaper alternatives.
