Roberto De Zerbi to Man United: Key Brighton man rubbishes 'nonsense figures' amid £12m buyout clause talk

Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi continues to be linked with a summer switch to Manchester United.

The Seagulls head coach has been excellent for Brighton since arriving in September 2022 and has attracted interest from a number of clubs including Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Milan and Barcelona.

Rumours continue to gather pace around United’s Erik Ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford as the summer approaches. Brighton and De Zerbi are however preparing for one of the biggest matches in their recent history as they take on Roma this Thursday in the Europa League round of 16 first leg at the Stadio Olimpico.

There has been much talk on De Zerbi's buyout clause with Brighton, but this week, Albion's head of communications Paul Camillin dismissed any figures quoted by media outlets – be that transfer fees or a potential buyout clause.

"There is this insatiable appetite and journalism has evolved massively,” said Camillin speaking with the excellent www.albionroar.co.uk. “Sky Sports news and this whole transfer deadline day thing has fuelled it.

I don't know [what fee the club want for a player]. Tony would not tell me and I would not be comfortable asking. Whether he tells Paul Barber [chief executive] or David Weir [technical director] I don't know, that's between them.

"Tony would never divulge a number. So anything you read that says Brighton want X for this player is not true, it is nonsense. Why would you? You are not doing yourself favours."

Camillin added: "This selling club thing annoys me. Every club is a selling club and every club is a buying club. We are lucky enough where we don't need to sell our top players.”

Recently Brighton have sold the likes of Ben White, Yves Bissouma, Dan Burn, Leo Trossard, Marc Cucurella, Rob Sanchez, Neal Maupay, Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister.

De Zerbi, 44, is contracted with Brighton until June 2026. Last week the Italian addressed recent speculation: “I have only Brighton in my head. I want to finish this season the best, playing with not all players such as Mitoma and March. But I like to play with Enciso and Pedro to compete and try to win more games."