The good work of Roberto De Zerbi has not gone unnoticed abroad and Spartak Moscow recently attempted a bold move as they wanted lure him away immediately, but they were rebuffed by both Sassuolo and especially the coach, Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
Few days ago, the Russian side considered firing Domenico Tedesco and approached the Italian manager offering a rich three-year contract with €3M annual wages, which would have tripled De Zerbi’s current salary, and a considerable compensation for the Neroverdi free him up from his deal.
The directors from the Myaso illustrated their technical project, but the gaffer turned them down, saying that he did not want to leave Sassuolo cold turkey and put them in a difficult spot. The Italian side was not too keen on letting him go either. Spartak, which are in third position in the Russian Premier League, have stuck with Tedesco so far.
De Zerbi joined Sassuolo from Benevento in two years ago, progressively climbing the standings in his seasons at the helm: he finished 11th in 2018/2019, 8th in the following campaign, while they sit it 4th position in the current one. He reportedly rejected an offer from Roma before they hired Paulo Fonseca.
Our view
It is just a matter of time until De Zerbi makes the jump to a top club given the success he is having at Sassuolo and his ultramodern style; it would have been odd if he hopped on the first train in the middle of the season, as he will likely have more glamourous opportunities come his way in the near future.