Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi admits that his team will lose players this summer, expecting Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister to leave, but advises Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan to stay. The Seagulls were in stunning form on Sunday afternoon as they thrashed Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates to stay on course for a finish in the European places. De Zerbi’s men went sixth with the three points in north London thanks to a fantastic second half performance which saw Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Estupinan score the goals. A number of Brighton’s players have been linked with moves away, most notably Caicedo being a target for Arsenal and Chelsea among others, while Mac Allister touted for a switch to Liverpool. The Italian is aware that those clubs may well plunder his for his standout stars, but he suggests the likes of Mitoma and Estupinan, who have also been linked with moves, stay where they are for now.
‘For sure we will lose some players, maybe Caicedo and Mac Allister,’ De Zerbi told Sky Sports. ‘We have to be ready to bring in more good players and for the others; Mitoma, Estupinan, I think for them the best solution is to stay with us. I don’t know if they are ready to play in the big teams. You have to arrive ready in the head. We can offer them the possibility to progress and to improve.’
Brighton have had a very eventful last five games, surprisingly losing at Nottingham Forest before thrashing Wolves and beating Manchester United. There was then a bizarre 5-1 loss at home to Everton before hammering Arsenal this weekend. De Zerbi feels that it is the experience and mindset of a team that must improve to deal with consistency when games come thick and fast.
‘We have to improve in mentality,’ he said. ‘We are not used to playing three games per week. We won a fantastic game with Man United and after four games we played against Everton. This is the most important part to improve.’
De Zerbi is expecting change at Brighton over the summer, but he is advising Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan to stay with the club as he believes they are not yet ready to play for big teams. He also believes that the team needs to improve their mentality in order to deal with the consistency of playing three games per week.