De Zerbi departure 'out of nowhere' - Veltman

Brighton defender Joel Veltman has been discussing Roberto de Zerbi's decision to leave the club in an exclusive interview on BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast.

The Italian manager's shock departure was only announced the day before Brighton's last game of the season against Manchester United, with the club stating: "Roberto has given us two excellent seasons of service".

"For me, it was out of nowhere," the former Netherlands international revealed. "Of course, we knew that recent results were not that great, but we still knew that next season everybody would be fit.

"The style was getting better every day in training as well. We knew we could do some things really nicely and improve even more.

"We will probably still do that and keep improving, but it will be without Roberto and his staff - so that is a bit disappointing."

Reflecting on De Zerbi's two years at the club, which included recording Brighton's highest ever Premier League finish and securing European football, Veltman added: "With Chris [Hughton], they went to the Premier League. With Graham [Potter], we ended up ninth. With Roberto, we ended up sixth with European football.

"I think it is the style of the club as well - don't go crazy, but keep improving every season. That is the aim for next season as well.

"But, again, Roberto just brought us a sort of special thing in how we played. That went worldwide, I would say, so that was nice."

Listen to the full Veltman interview on BBC Sounds