Brighton and Hove Albon have appointed the youngest manager in the club’s history in 31-year-old Fabian Hürzeler.
The German coach has agreed a contract until June 2027 and, once he has a work permit, he is expected to start work straight away, before the squad return for pre-season preparations next month.
Albion were near liquidation around the time when he was born, selling Mark Beeney to Leeds to stave off the taxman.
The club said: “We are pleased to confirm that Fabian Hürzeler will become our new men’s first-team head coach.
“Fabian has agreed a contract until June 2027. Once his work permit is processed, he will begin work straight away, ahead of the squad returning for pre-season preparations in July.”
Albion chairman Tony Bloom said: “From the start of the process to appoint our new head coach, Fabian was always a standout candidate and one who had caught our attention with his exceptional work at St Pauli over the past 18 months.
“He has a style of play that aligns with how we want a Brighton and Hove Albion team to play and I’m confident it is one our supporters will appreciate and enjoy.
“Fabian also has an excellent coaching pedigree and has worked with the German federation at various age group levels. We are really excited to start working with Fabian to prepare for the upcoming season.”
Hürzeler said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be the new head coach of Brighton and Hove Albion.
“After speaking to Tony, Paul and David, it was clear that they are highly ambitious. The club has a unique history and bold vision for the future so I am truly excited to be part of the project.
“The club has made incredible progress over the last few seasons and the aim is to continue building on that success.
“I am relishing the opportunity to coach in the Premier League and I can’t wait to meet the players, staff and, of course, the fans.”
Albion chief executive Paul Barber said: “Away from the pressure of the regular season, we have taken our time to get this appointment right and are delighted to have agreed with Fabian to become our new head coach.
“He has already shown in a relatively short space of time as a head coach that he is one of the most innovative coaches working in football and we are looking forward to getting ready for next season.”
Technical director David Weir said: “We will work closely with Fabian to help him settle in and to get to know the club, staff and the area.
“Fabian already has an excellent knowledge of our squad and players and we will be working to strengthen an already very strong squad during the transfer window.
“We will confirm all of Fabian’s immediate backroom staff in due course, although Andrew Crofts and Jack Stern will be part of that coaching group, as first-team coach and goalkeeping coach respectively.”
Albion added: “Having reached agreement with St Pauli and secured the necessary governing body endorsement from the Football Association, the club is now in a position to apply for a work permit for Fabian.”
Hürzeler is due to meet the media at a news conference, attended by Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and David Weir, at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre training facility, in Lancing, on Tuesday 2 July.
I think this is a very risky appointment indeed.
I wish him all the best but:
He has only one year of 1st team coaching experience in the German 2nd tier so has no experience of top level football coaching.
Compared to De Zerbi, who coached successfully in Italy and Ukraine and who brought a very good backroom team with him, Fabian has a mountain of new things to deal with.
Who is going to fill the backroom roles formerly done by De Zerbi’s staff?
Fabian is going to have to deal with so many different things at all levels – new country, new club, new players, new back room team, the Premier league for a start.
A huge amount of pressure to put on such a young man.
It now seems apparent to most Brighton fans that De Zerbi had agreed to Join Marseille – who Brighton drew against away and beat at home in December 2023 – in February following the sacking of Gattusso. It was obvious to most fans that there had been some derailment behind the scenes from February.
De Zerbi has definitely not just been offered the role at Marseille since he left us.
So a lot of Albion fans feel a massive sense of deception and that DeZerbi’s end of season speech was nothing more than a huge charade.
I really hope I’m proved wrong but I – like a lot of other Albion fans – are not as naive as the people running the club think we are.
Of course we all want to see the club doing well and we’ve been on a fantastic journey and should never take that journey as deserved, but I think Fabian’s appointment is one hell of a gamble to take.