'Other clubs' – Roberto De Zerbi responds to Juventus link ahead of new Brighton role

De Zerbi agreed a four-year deal with the Seagulls and succeeds previous boss Graham Potter, who left for Chelsea last week.

The Italian, who previously managed Serie A outfit Sassuolo and Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk, had been linked with Juventus, who are currently having a rough time under Massimiliano Allegri.

"There were not any other real opportunities from Juventus or other clubs,” said De Zerbi in his first press conference as Albion boss on Tuesday.

"Sometimes there is a lot written in newspapers but that doesn't mean that it is true. There were a lot of rumours but there was nothing in reality."

The 43-year-old did however add: "Other teams were interested but Brighton wanted me and my style suits them. For me it's very easy to start with Brighton because of the work of [Graham] Potter."

De Zerbi is the first Italian to ever manage Brighton and it’s the first time he has taken charge of a Premier League club. The former Napoli midfielder insisted he has studied the Premier League and every Brighton player and also took advice from Pep Guardiola and his assistant at Manchester City Enzo Maresca.

“Yes, of course I called someone, I pick up my information, in Italy we follow a lot the Premier League of course and yes I called a couple of people in order to get the right information to come to the Premier League.

“We [Maresca] know each other already for 30 years, because we played together when we were 13, 14 years old. So he told me the truth for sure.”

Brighton are fourth in the Premier League but do not play again until after the international break on October 1 at Liverpool. De Zerbi’s first match at the Amex will be against Tottenham on October 8.

The new boss added: “I come to a team that knows what to do and goes well. I come here very humble because I know where I’m coming to work but of course I come here with my personality to do what I know, to bring here my experiences what I know to do and also one day when I leave, to bring what I’ve learnt here.

"I know that here there are a lot of talented players and I know we can work very well.”