Roberto De Zerbi is the ideal candidate to succeed Pep Guardiola at Man City - The brilliant Brighton boss is also an innovator and a perfectionist

De Zerbi would surely love nothing more than following Guardiola at City as the Catalan's work with Barcelona is what convinced him to dive into the world of coaching when he was winding down his career as a journeyman midfielder.

While De Zerbi was playing out his final years with Avellino and then Romanian side Cluj, Guardiola was presiding over spellbinding football with Barcelona, romping to three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues while playing an irresistible style that had barely been seen before.

"I became a coach for Guardiola because I loved his Barcelona," De Zerbi said last May. "I studied him a lot, I didn't copy him but I took when I started to be a coach, before when I finished to be a player. Pep is still number one."

De Zerbi took his first step as a head coach with Palermo in September 2016, just when Guardiola began his stint with City. He only lasted three months in his first job and in his second role with Benevento he inherited a team who had lost every game of the season. De Zerbi made unwanted history as he presided over a 14th consecutive defeat, the worst ever start to a season in Europe's top five leagues for 87 years.

But things soon turned and although he could not avoid relegation he ensured they ended the campaign in dignified fashion with six wins. It was enough to secure him a job with Sassuolo and it was there that De Zerbi really built his reputation, overseeing a thrilling style of play and successive top-eight finishes in Serie A.

Brighton, who are the envy of all of Europe when it comes to recruitment, were attracted to the Italian and after one season in charge of the Seagulls everyone, even Souness, was convinced of De Zerbi's qualities as a coach. Still, Guardiola went a step further when he doffed his cap to the Italian ahead of City's visit to Brighton in May, just after they had clinched the Premier League title.

"Pay attention to what I'm going to say. I'm pretty convinced I'm right in what I'm saying, I think Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years," Guardiola said

"There is no team playing the way they play, it's unique. I have the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great – I didn’t expect them to do it in this short space of time."

The City coach, in one of the great role reversals, said he was now being influenced by De Zerbi as he was preparing for the FA Cup and Champions League finals. He even likened him to a Michelin starred chef.

"He creates 20 or 25 chances per game, better by far than most opponents, he monopolises the ball in a way it hasn’t been for a long time. One of the teams I try to learn a lot from," he added.

"It is unique, like a Michelin-star restaurant unique. In Catalonia there was El Bulli with Ferran Adria, the best cook for many years and he changed the cuisine. Brighton are playing with something special. The way they move and it’s an incredible challenge to prepare for the two finals."

De Zerbi's Brighton are the only team in the Premier League who can come close to City in certain metrics. Since he took charge of the club in September 2022, the Seagulls have the second-best possession stats with 61.6 percent, only trailing City's 63.8%. They are also only behind City when it comes to making sequences of nine or more passes, with 843 compared to City's 1018 and make the joint-fewest share of long passes in the league.

Brighton have scored 82 goals since De Zerbi took over, only trailing City's 88 and Arsenal's 90. This season, Brighton lead the Premier League's scoring charts with 21 goals from eight matches, four more than City.

And they visit the Etihad at a time when City are at their least creative. They had just four shots in their 1-0 defeat at Arsenal before the international break, their lowest amount in a Premier League game for 13 years. Brighton, meanwhile, had 14 shots in their compelling 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

There is an argument to make that right now De Zerbi is a more exciting coach than Guardiola, albeit less successful. And if he is capable of playing this way with Brighton, just imagine what he could do with the talent and financial might City have.

There are further similarities between De Zerbi and Guardiola beyond their style of play and that is in their obsession with the game. When he was coach of Barca, Guardiola once missed his daughter's dance show in order to sit in a small dark room and watch videos of his side's next opponents. The match he was preparing for was not a big Champions League knockout game or a Clasico against Real Madrid. It was against Levante.

De Zerbi, whose wife still lives in Italy and whose daughter is at university in London, lives alone in Sussex and can feed his football habit with no restrictions. When he gets home from a long day's work at Brighton's training ground, he chooses to watch football on TV with his assistant coach.

"Football is a hobby, work, passion, it’s my life," he told the Daily Mail. "The problem is when there aren’t any games. I love to spend my time with my assistant watching the Champions League, and for us it’s an honour playing in the Europa League this season because if you live for football and can play in the middle of the week, it’s an honour, a pleasure. I think I’m really lucky in life because my work is my passion. I’m enjoying working."

Another similarity with Guardiola is a constant quest for perfection. The Catalan has often expressed his disappointment with City after a victory. Take the 4-2 comeback win over Tottenham last season, which would lead to most managers to praise the team's spirit and courage. Instead, Guardiola went on a tirade, saying he did not want City to be a 'happy flowers team' and taking aim at the players, staff and fans.

De Zerbi has the same tendency. He criticised his team's performance after a 4-1 win at Everton last season and after their 3-1 victory against Bournemouth last month, calling the latter "one of the worst games in my time”.

Player accounts of working with each manager also sound similar. Here is Jason Steele talking about De Zerbi: "He's full on, always working, always trying to get better, trying to learn, and it rubs off and it's infectious. The way I see football now whether I'm playing or watching TV is totally different to how I used to see it two, three or four years ago. I see a totally different sport now just through what he has taught us."

Compare Steele on De Zerbi with Erling Haaland talking about Guardiola, saying playing under the Catalan has made him feel "more experienced". The Norwegian also calls his coach "a detail freak". He told The Telegraph: “When I spoke with him before I signed here he said ‘I don’t care what you do, do whatever you want. But when you have me on the [training] pitch you have to be focused. If not, I will smash you!’”. That’s really how he is and City are as a team and as a club. It’s why they have been so successful."

If City are to come close to sustaining the success they have had under Guardiola when he eventually leaves, they will need a manager who can match his intensity and his demands. Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini won titles but they did not come close to that intensity. De Zerbi, however, seems to have it in spades.

De Zerbi, of course, still has some work to do before he is ready to step into Guardiola's dugout. He still has a lot to prove in European football, for starters. Brighton have only taken one point from their Europa League group matches against AEK Athens and Marseille, while he only took two points in six Champions League matches when he was in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Italian is all too aware of this, remarking after last month's draw with Marseille: "I’m not a big coach. I’m not used to playing in this competition." City's appetite for winning the Champions League has not been sated by last season's triumph and when appointing Guardiola's successor they will need to be convinced he can go deep in Europe's top competition.

For De Zerbi to improve his European credentials, Brighton must qualify from their group and do well in the knockout stage. And to do that he might need to become more pragmatic and temper some of his team's attacking tendencies.

For all their attacking talent, City are a team who leak remarkably few goals and had the best defensive record in England last season. Guardiola's side have conceded just six goals this season while Brighton have shipped 16, including six in one game at Aston Villa.

There is also no guarantee that Guardiola will not fancy renewing his contract before 2025 or that another top side might snap De Zerbi up before the Catalan bows out. But there can be no question that if City were looking for a successor right now, the Italian would be at the front of the queue.