Marseille have reached an agreement in principle with Roberto De Zerbi to take over as head coach, the Ligue 1 club said on Monday. De Zerbi left Brighton at the end of last season after a successful two-year spell, which included their highest Premier League finish of sixth and qualification for European competition for the first time. The Italian tactician has previously been linked with other Premier League jobs, including at Manchester United and Liverpool. Before moving to Brighton, De Zerbi’s jobs included managing Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine and Sassuolo in Italy. De Zerbi, 45, will take over at Marseille from Jean-Louis Gasset, who retired after taking a short-term contract following Gennaro Gattuso’s departure in February. Marseille, who finished a disappointing eighth last season, said they expected the deal to be finalised in the coming days. Brighton appointed 31-year-old Fabian ­Hürzeler as their head coach earlier in June. The German led St Pauli to pro­motion to the Bundesliga last season.