Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi 'not among leading contenders to succeed Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager as club turn attention elsewhere'

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is not among the frontrunners to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, according to a report.

Klopp's tenure at Anfield will come to an end at the end of the season and De Zerbi has been one of the favourites to succeed him.

The Italian has impressed fans and pundits alike since taking over as the Brighton boss back in 2022 but Sky Sports claim the Reds have now turned their attention elsewhere. 

Liverpool beat De Zerbi's Brighton side 2-1 at the weekend, coming from behind after Danny Welbeck's early opener. 

The reports states that De Zerbi was on the original list of potential candidates but has now fallen behind the likes of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.

However, another big job could be on the horizon with Bayern Munich having made him and Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann the top contenders to replace Thomas Tuchel.

Tuchel will be departing the Allianz in the summer and the German giants have been dealt a blow with preferred option Xabi Alonso confirming that he willl be staying at Bayer Leverkusen.

De Zerbi cast doubt over his Brighton future last week as he refused to commit to being at the club next term, revealing that he plans to have talks with club owner Tony Bloom about his next steps.

Asked if he could reassure Brighton fans that he will be at the club next season, De Zerbi replied: 'I have a different way to decide my future.

'I want to speak with my club, I have a contract but the problem is not the contract - the problem is to find the same plan, the same target, the same vision for the future.

'For me, I have not decided yet what is my future, because I have the contract, but anyway I want to speak with Tony [Bloom], my club, to understand their plan, to understand his plan, the Tony plan. Then we take the decision together, without problems.

'The future I want to keep my ambition, my motivation, I live for football 24 hours a day, I want to know what is the plan, what is the project, what is the future because if I don't feel comfortable, I don't feel the right motivation, I can't stay any longer.'