Roberto De Zerbi will talk to the media today with full focus on what could be an historic few weeks for Albion.

If he is asked about speculation linking him with supposed interest from elsewhere, he will probably give an answer similar to that which he offered at a recent press conference.

A question was asked from the front row in a slightly reluctant way which smacked of “my bosses have told me to ask you this” about reports of Spurs interest.

And the response was, shall we say, clear.

De Zerbi said: “We have a clear focus, a clear target and for the players and me it’s the same. I have a long contract with Brighton, I am happy to work here, I am enjoying working with these players.”

From a very early stage - even before Antonio Conte’s infamous press conference at Southampton - it has appeared that De Zerbi would not be interested in going to Tottenham even if they asked.

It is somewhat disrespectful to suggest he is looking for a new club, six months into an exciting challenge with employers who seem to suit him down to the ground.

De Zerbi had three years at Sassuolo and it is intriguing to wonder what can happen if he has the same sort of stint here.

One key to progress will be recruitment. That goes for any head coach.

He will have come with ideas of players he would like to sign or positions he would like to strengthen.

Albion were interested in his former Shakhtar defender Mykola Matviyenko but not at the price which was being asked.

For now, Levi Colwill is just as good an option as that left-sided centre-back and someone who gives the option of playing in a three.

But what has also become clear is that he likes what he sees from the recruitment team he now counts as work colleagues with the Seagulls.

The signings of Yasin Ayari and Facundo Buonanotte are not De Zerbi’s work and yet he has spoken highly of both youngsters.

He has, pretty quickly, given them debuts and involved them in squads.

READ MORE: DE ZERBI HAS LALLANA INSPIRED FOR THE RUN-IN

He threw on Buonanotte to help chase wins against Bournemouth and Fulham.

Remember he lost the services of the Argentinean to the CONMEBOL Under-20s and then injury while Ayari missed two games through illness.

Without those inconveniences, they may well have played more.

So it would be easy to imagine that, while he way well make his own suggestions, De Zerbi also has great trust in the recruitment team around him.

It can be easy to link a new manager with players he already knows. Too easy.

Despite all the questions and suggestions, Graham Potter didn’t sign anyone from Swansea.

Nor did Oscar Garcia provide Albion with a crop of rising stars from Barcelona.

There is a world of talent out there and Albion know how to make the best of it. He will know that.

Will Albion match his ambition?

One would suggest no one is more ambitious than the chairman who financed a state-of-the-art stadium designed for the Premier League when his club were mid-table in League One.

Or who has ploughed in close to £500 million in recent years.

Will Albion back him?

One could argue De Zerbi benefited from the greatest bit of backing any Albion boss has ever enjoyed when his club turned down about £70 million for a player in January.

Albion DO sell star players but they keep more than they sell.

The accounts released last week suggested they need to make one or two well-timed, well-negotiated sales to show a profit.

That was certainly the case in 2021-22.

But only one or two. They don’t need to cash in wholesale on playing (or coaching) talent.

Of course, there might be jobs out there which would tempt an ambitious head coach.

Maybe in Italy, where all the big guns minus Napoli are thought to be pondering changes.

Real Madrid may well lose Carlo Ancelotti to Brazil.

With all respect to De Zerbi, would his progress at Sassuolo and Brighton make him the man any of those clubs look to as they target domestic and European titles?

That is not to say they shouldn’t but it might be too imaginative an appointment.

But the Premier League is where top people want to be.

The stuff about “best league in the world” can grate at times. It certainly has in the past.

But there can be no doubt that many aspects of it are increasingly the best in the world, the pinnacle.

De Zerbi’s assistant Andrea Maldera, steeped in the traditions of Milan, spoke recently about how every game in England felt like a big occasion.

Our top-flight is over-subscribed. There are no makeweights.

There are three, or four now, who feel their rightful place is top of the league.

A ‘big six’ who all assume they should be in the top four.

Probably 14 or 15 who think they should be in the top ten.

And probably at least a dozen clubs outside the Premier League who look at Albion and think “we’ve been there” or “we should be there”.

So why the speculation? Well, it is easy to do. It creates talking points, gets readers and hits.

Albion are now followed by a worldwide audience who don’t fully know the qualities of the club, had possibly never heard of Brighton until recently, and might see it a stepping stone to more famous destinations.

It seems many people love transfer stories. Or love to hate them.

One imagines it can be tough to live for the transfer window when the transfer window is closed for most of the year.

And it reflects that Albion are doing well.

One well-known transfer-related Tweeter and blogger this week said “There’s a way out for Roberto De Zerbi at the end of the season” as if he had discovered an escape route from Alcatraz.

Of course there is if it really came to that. Paul Barber is on record as saying “football clubs are not prisons”.

But RDZ is hugely valued and everything we see suggests he is loving his time at Albion, at ease with his surroundings and in the right place (in terms of both club and league) at the right time.

He appreciated the support and lack of panic when he went winless in his first five matches and is enjoying his work.

All the time that continues, he will be neither talking nor tunnelling his way out of Lancing unless something truly exceptional comes up.

He has a Premier League run-in and an FA Cup to think about.

Amd whatever comes after that.