I totally agree with you on the reason De Zerbi left Brighton. Right from the start, I have also observed and rated him as a manager with high ambitions. Seeing how much he wanted to be known in European football so bad and his desire to make history with Brighton, it’s unfortunate for De Zerbi that the chance to do that did not come and he didn’t make Chelsea also. De Zerbi is a good manager and very likable, but I don’t think Chelsea made a wrong decision in picking Enzo Maresca over him.
De Zerbi was highly scouted by many top clubs when he was the head coach of Brighton, Brighton then were playing excellent football under him but was their any result? I don’t think so. Last season they were in the European competitions but didn’t get pass the round of 16 and this was one of the major reasons why De Zerbi hype then later get low and clubs like Chelsea didn’t later go for him. Just like you said I don’t think Chelsea actually made any mistake of not signing him because what was the point of even sacking Pochettino in the first place if they were going for someone like De Zerbi, he is currently doing an exceptional job at OM but I will say it might not have been like that at Chelsea because the expectations or the pressure of this two clubs are not the same.
I have said it before that Erik Ten Hag has always favored Dutch players and the players he has worked with in his former club. Cristiano Ronaldo and Sancho were not one if these category of players so I was not surprised to see the animosity towards them. Look at both players after leaving Manchester United and compare their stats and you will see that Sancho is a good player but poor management messed things up at Manchester United and made the players look bad.
Ten Hag is awful and if sacked is the right decision but I will still defend him against this players antics, first of all Ronaldo departure might have been started by him but Ronaldo case was against the club after the interview. Ronaldo is Manchester United legend which made him more powerful at the club than Ten Hag so the manager would have been able to get him out. As for Sancho I will say no body actually question his capabilities he is a great player but he wasn’t just having it at Manchester United. Can you tell me maybe it is only ten hag that actually managed him at Manchester United and never did he break through into the first team with any of this managers.