BT Sport pundit says Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton will be 'incredibly competitive' against the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City

De Zerbi is currently preparing for his first game as Brighton boss against last season’s Champions League finalist Liverpool at Anfield this Saturday (October 1).

Virgo, who started his career at Albion and played 143 league games for his hometown club, says the appointment of the Italian ‘ticks so many boxes’.

The 39-year-old said: “The Brighton team has developed over time. There was a period where we were probably just trying to stay in games against big teams, but this is where Brighton have evolved and have proven they are more than capable of competing against those big teams consistently, including away from home.

“That comes from belief in the system and ideas the head coach has. Roberto had that at Sassuolo, he made them a stable team. But against the big teams such as AC Milan, Inter and Juventus, they were incredibly competitive.

"The style of play is really good on the eye. I can see exactly why this appointment ticks so many boxes.”

De Zerbi signed a four-year-deal with Brighton on September 18, replacing Graham Potter who had left the club to join Chelsea, following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel.

The Italian has gained a lot of plaudits for the possession-based, attacking football he implemented whilst working in Serie A with Benevento and Sassuolo, including Virgo, who works as a pundit on BT Sport’s coverage of Italian football.

Albion also received numerous compliments from pundits about the style of football they played under Potter and Virgo believes the styles of De Zerbi and the Seagulls are ‘very similar.’

Virgo said: "Sassuolo work with a very similar model and you can see why Brighton identified Roberto as next in line.

“Yes, it’s a different league, but seeing the way he performed at Sassuolo is a really good indicator of what he can do. When Roberto was in charge and I knew I was covering his team’s games I knew I was going to be entertained and see a good game of football."

When De Zerbi was named Benevento manager in October 2017, the club were rock bottom of Serie A and labelled by one Italian newspaper as the ‘worst squad in Europe’, having lost all of the first eight league games and scored only two goals.

Despite remaining bottem from the whole season, De Zerbi was still praised for improving the quality of football in the Campania region, with the addition of only one loan signing in the January transfer window.

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Virgo continued: “Even when he was at Benevento and they got relegated they still got so many plaudits and praise. The style of play and amount he got out of those players put him on the map, he can work with players and help them develop.

“I know it’s a results business, but if your model of a football club is having a manager who can work within a budget and develop players you only have to look at the job that he did at Benevento to see that. He got them playing in a certain way and got a lot of respect in Italy for that.”