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Roberto De Zerbi is said to be at risk of being sacked by Marseille in the wake of their early exit from the Champions League - just weeks after being touted as a contender for the Manchester United job.

The former Brighton chief, 46, joined the French giants back in the summer of 2024 and his stock remains high in the Premier League off the back of his impressive stint with the Seagulls. However, De Zerbi is in 'great danger' of the sack after failing to get Marseille through the league phase of the Champions League.

RMC Sport claim that talks are even underway with a view to announcing the Italian's departure, such is the anger over Marseille's chastening 3-0 defeat by Club Brugge on Wednesday night; a result which ended the club's hopes of reaching the play-off round.

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While it remains to be seen if Marseille will pull the trigger, the club's sporting director, Medhi Benatia, pulled no punches with his words post-match, though he seemed to direct his ire at the players rather than De Zerbi.

He said: "I hope that the players are aware that tonight is a professional foul. I've lost games in my career, I've rarely felt that sense of shame, being able to concede six goals in two games. I want it to have consequences on the rest of the season."

If De Zerbi is removed from his post by Marseille then it could create an intriguing scenario for the powerbrokers at Manchester United, who are expected to appoint their new long-term head coach in the summer.

After the sacking of Ruben Amorim, Michael Carrick was handed the reins on a contract until the end of the season and has impressed in his first two weeks in the role, beating both Manchester City and Arsenal.

However, it's expected United will seek a different coach to replace Amorim permanently, with numerous reports claiming De Zerbi is of interest to the Old Trafford hierarchy.

And availability could play a factor if United do decide to act on their admiration for a coach who built up an impressive body of work at Brighton before moving overseas.

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