Former Brighton coach De Zerbi moves to French league club Marseille

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Roberto De Zerbi is set to become Marseille’s new coach after the French League club announced that an “agreement in principle” had been reached.

De Zerbi, who left Brighton after two seasons as manager, led the Premier League club to their highest-ever top-flight finish of sixth place and then to the round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League.

Marseille said in a statement late Monday that it was “currently working with all parties involved to formalize the arrival of the Italian coach and his staff on the OM bench and to prepare his arrival in Marseille in the coming days.”

De Zerbi will replace Jean-Louis Gasset, who ended his career at the end of the French league season.

Since American owner Frank McCourt bought Marseille in 2016, the former powerhouse of French football has not found any form of stability. There have been a series of coaches and crises that sometimes violent.

The club has changed managers 30 times since the start of the century, more than any other top team in France during that period. The 1993 Champions League winners missed out on European qualification after finishing eighth in the French league.

Marseille dominated domestic football in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was the only French team to win the Champions League. It has not won its own league since 2010.

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