Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague says Roberto de Zerbi "has got great admirers" at Manchester City and could be a potential successor to Pep Guardiola when he leaves his role with the Premier League champions.
The Italian has led Brighton to European football for the first time in the club's history - although they lost their opening Europa League game to AEK Athens - and has been mentioned as a candidate for some of the biggest jobs in football.
"He (De Zerbi) just takes football to another level, that's what I think he's doing," Balague told BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro Leagues podcast.