Manchester United are on the hunt for their next permanent manager but have been warned about Roberto De Zerbi after their Champions League defeat
French football expert Julian Laurens fired a warning to Manchester United as linked managerial candidate Roberto De Zerbi’s ‘limitations’ showed against Liverpool on Wednesday.
The Ligue 1 side suffered a 3-0 home defeat to the Premier League club in the penultimate Champions League phase. The Italian has gained a reputation for his eye-catching football and skills developing players, with 18 months remaining on his contract, he has faced increasing links to the United post.
Michael Carrick is in interim charge until the end of the season but the likes of De Zerbi, Thomas Tuchel and Oliver Glasner have been mooted to become Ruben Amorim’s successor.
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Liverpool stretched their unbeaten run to 13 matches but Laurens felt that Marseille rolled over slightly after rarely testing Arne Slot’s side.
He said: “I think it’s a good debate to have. As good as he has been at times with Marseille – we mentioned some of the really good performances they’ve had against Newcastle, the game against PSG in the French Super Cup – at times, like tonight, and I know Liverpool are very good, I’m not really sure what he’s trying to do.
“It’s not good enough, and if it’s not good enough for Marseille would he be good enough for Manchester United? I’m not sure.
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“Obviously, it’s a high-risk, high-reward style of football – we’ve seen that in Italy and at Brighton before. Tonight there was just no high risk at all, so there was never going to be any reward.
“I feel that here he’s struggled to implement what he wants to do with this current squad, but this is a squad that he’s picked; him, Medhi Benatia, the sporting director, and Pablo Longoria, the president. And if he can’t get a tune out of this team in these kind of games I’m not sure he’s the right guy for United.”
He added: “Maybe he’s lost a bit of credit. I still think United probably rate him because of what he did before, and I can understand that. But tonight showed his limitations.”
The 46-year-old stunned England’s top-flight after leaving the Seagulls for southern France in 2024. By then, he had been repeatedly linked with the United job and was reported as a potential replacement for Erik ten Hag before the Old Trafford hierarchy opted to retain faith in the Dutchman before dismissing him after nine Premier League matches.
De Zerbi’s record against the Premier League big six was impressive. He picked up two wins and two draws in six outings against Liverpool during his time at Brighton, also picking two wins over Chelsea and Arsenal in five matches.
The Italian was at Old Trafford when the mood changed towards Ten Hag following a brilliant 3-1 win for the visitors, then inflicting a first home defeat in 13 months for United.
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