Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola acted as a sounding board to new Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian has been confirmed as the Seagulls' new manager after Graham Potter jumped ship to take up the Chelsea post. And the 43-year-old admitted he consulted Guardiola before agreeing to the switch.
"I spoke to Pep on Sunday evening, yes. He's very happy that I'm on board here," said De Zerbi, whose was head coach of Shakhtar Donetsk before resigning from his role in July due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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"He told me very good things about the club, and if I need he will be very happy to help me — but of course not in the match we are playing against them!"
The two men will meet in just over a month when Brighton, who are fourth in the table at present, visit the Etihad on Saturday, October 22. For his maiden press conference De Zerbi spoke via a translator but has pledged to address the language barrier in due course.
He added: "I'm sorry for my English, my goal is to start to speak English by January. I'm very happy to be here, I'm very happy to be the new head coach, and I want to say thank you to the chairman and the club. I have studied every single player, and I will do a very good job."
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