Roberto De Zerbi responds to claims he could replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto De Zerbi insisted that he is only focusing on matters at the Amex when asked about the Liverpool managerial position.

Jurgen Klopp announced on Friday morning that he would be leaving Liverpool this summer, and Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso is regarded as the favourite for the role.

De Zerbi has also been heavily linked with the position due to his impressive work at Brighton, but the Italian has sidestepped claims that he could be the new head coach of the English giants.

"My focus is just on the last part of the season," De Zerbi told reporters on Friday. "We are going to compete and to play a historic part of the season. We compete in the Premier League to reach the same target as last season (qualifying for Europe).

"We're going to play the last 16 in the Europa League. We compete in the FA Cup and we remember the defeat last season in Wembley and for it I keep my eye on my team."

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Brighton will be bidding to book their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup when they head to fellow Premier League side Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.

The Seagulls are also in the last-16 stage of the Europa League, while they sit seventh in the Premier League table, three points behind sixth-placed West Ham United.

Klopp admitted that he is "running out of energy" when explaining his reasons for deciding to leave Liverpool at the end of the campaign, and De Zerbi has said that he 'understands' why his fellow manager has made the difficult call.

"I'm very sad because, if he changes league, changes country, the Premier League loses one of the best coaches in the world," said the Brighton head coach.

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"I consider Klopp, (Pep) Guardiola, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Marcelo) Bielsa the best coaches in the world and I'm sad for it.

"I can understand it very well. I think our work is the best work you can do but it is very tough. You need energy. You have to push every day. If you don't work with the right energy, you lose everything."

De Zerbi has also been linked with the Manchester United job amid the ongoing speculation surrounding Erik ten Hag's future as head coach.

The 44-year-old replaced Graham Potter as manager of Brighton in September 2022, and he has a record of 32 wins, 18 draws and 18 defeats from his 68 games at the helm.

Alonso was also asked about the position on Friday, and the Spaniard refused to rule out replacing Klopp at Anfield.