Brighton and Hove Albion news: Roberto De Zerbi's new salary 'revealed' amid reports he could double his wage

The 43-year-old was most recently in charge at Shakhtar Donetsk but left the club in July because of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

He has signed a four-year contract with the Seagulls and was announced on Sunday evening as the successor to Graham Potter, who departed for Chelsea earlier this month.

De Zerbi earned rave reviews for his style of football during a three-year tenure at Sassuolo, leading them to two eighth-place finishes in Serie A, and he won last year’s Ukrainian Super Cup with Shakhtar.

Brighton owner Tony Bloom said: “I am absolutely thrilled. Roberto’s teams play an exciting and courageous brand of football, and I am confident his style and tactical approach will suit our existing squad superbly.”

De Zerbi met with Bloom, chief executive Paul Barber and technical director David Weir in London earlier this week and flew into Sussex on Friday night before watching a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

De Zerbi is set to bring his coaching staff with him after Brighton revealed contracts have been agreed ahead of their next fixture against Liverpool after the international break on October 1.

Potter was thought to be on around £2m per year at Brighton before agreeing a lucrative five year deal at Chelsea thought to worth around £10m per year.

De Zerbi, who was reportedly on around £1.5m per year at his previous role at Shakhtar, could see his salary increase to around £2m at the Amex, the same as Potter received on the south coast.

It was reported he could double his wage with a move to Brighton but that could be wide of the mark, as Brighton are unlikely to significantly increase the amount they paid Potter for a new manager with as yet no experience of managing in the Premier League.

Here's a table of the highest paid to the lowest paid Premier League managers – as reported in the The Sun last February.

1. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) – £19m

2. Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) – £16m

3. Antonio Conte (Tottenham) – £15m

4. Brendan Rodgers (Leicester) – £10m

5. Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) – £8.3m

6. Ralf Rangnick (Man United)– £8m

7. Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds) – £8m

8. Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea) – £7m

9. Ralph Hasenhuttl (Southampton) – £6m

10. Frank Lampard (Everton) – £5m

11. David Moyes (West Ham) – £5m

12. Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa) – £5m

14. Patrick Vieira (Crystal Palace) – £4m

16. Eddie Howe (Newcastle) – £3m

17. Bruno Lage (Wolves) – £2.5m

18. Graham Potter (Brighton) – £2m

20. Thomas Frank (Brentford) – £1.5m