Tottenham Hotspur have their eyes set on potentially appointing Roberto De Zerbi as their next permanent manager to replace Antonio Conte.
Would De Zerbi leave Brighton for Spurs?
It has been a turbulent season for the north London side who now sit outside of the Champions League spots having taken just two points from their last two games against Southampton and Everton.
Their poor form on the road has also left Spurs susceptible to Brighton & Hove Albion who could overtake the Lilywhites if they win their two games in hand.
And they could make big strides to do so on Saturday when they travel to north London where they will face Cristian Stellini's Spurs.
This could potentially be seen as De Zerbi's audition in front of Daniel Levy with the Italian believed to be one of the options on Tottenham's shortlist.
However, reports recently have suggested that after Spurs made an approach to the Italian's camp, the noises they have heard back have not been overly positive.
And speaking on the Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, Alasdair Gold has claimed those around the Italian have suggested he is a bit emotional and mad behind the scenes:
(52:20) "I know it will be another Italian and he's quite emotional Italian from what it sounds like and I think behind the scenes, he can be a bit of a madcap chap from some of the people I've spoken to that know him.
"But I do think he's another character that would step in and try to grab Spurs by the scruff of the neck and that's what they need."
Would De Zerbi bring Conte similarities?
Perhaps the biggest issue for Spurs fans regarding Conte was his negative style of football which saw many grow tiresome of the Italian.
And in this sense, there is a stark contrast between the two Italian bosses with De Zerbi's Brighton demonstrating themselves to be one of the most exciting sides to watch in the Premier League.
Only the Premier League's top two sides have recorded a higher average possession than the Seagulls (59.9%) this season which is considerably higher than that of Spurs.
However, it is perhaps what De Zerbi is extracting out of the players he has available which is most impressive.
Youngster Evan Ferguson is a great example. Under the Italian, the Irishman is quickly emerging as one of the Premier League's brightest talents and is being given a real opportunity in the side.
And with a number of players at Spurs, like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, struggling to find any kind of form, the prospect of an attack-minded manager has to be a big appeal.
But perhaps the 43-year-old does not carry only positives with him as Gold suggests there is also a fiery side to the Italian.
Spurs will be all too familiar with Italian managers so it would be interesting to see whether Conte's time at Spurs may have scarred Levy slightly.
