Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler could enter the conversation when some weighty clubs contemplate a change in the dugout this summer.
Among them are Bayer Leverkusen, the Bundesliga side who are keeping a close eye on the German’s situation.
The hierarchy at the BayArena are set to replace Kasper Hjulmand at the end of the season. The Dane’s appointment in September was a quick pivot necessitated by Erik ten Hag’s sacking after just two league games in charge for the former Manchester United manager, rather than being representative of any long-term strategy.
This is not the first time Hurzeler has been on Leverkusen’s radar.
They were interested in the former St. Pauli head coach after last season, when Ten Hag ended up succeeding Xabi Alonso after the Spaniard’s move to Real Madrid. Hurzeler, at that stage, had just steered Brighton to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League in a promising first year in charge. So he was not going anywhere.
That may still be the case but, 12 months on, the dial has shifted slightly.
In all probability, Leverkusen will again be able to offer Hurzeler European football, while Brighton may miss out on qualifying for continental competition for a second season in succession.
Leverkusen, who were Bundesliga champions and DFB-Pokal (Germany’s FA Cup) winners under Alonso in 2023-24, were guided to the last 16 of the Champions League by Hjulmand, where they lost 3-1 to Arsenal on aggregate to Arsenal earlier this month.
Recent results in the Bundesliga have been mixed, but they are sixth in the standings and are on course for European football of some sort again in 2026-27. The DFB-Pokal provides an alternative route to qualification, although they have a job on their hands there as they face title-bound Bayern Munich in the semi-finals in just over three weeks.
Leverkusen, ambitious to scale the heights domestically and in Europe once more, are impressed by Hurzeler’s work deep into his second season at Brighton. That eighth place last season was the second-highest in the club’s history, having come sixth under predecessor Roberto De Zerbi in 2022-23 to qualify for Europe for the first time.
Sources granted anonymity to protect relationships have been spoken to by The Athletic for this article.
The likeliest outcome is that Hurzeler stays at Brighton for a third season, but there are no guarantees.
Fabian Hurzeler was under pressure from Brighton fans earlier this season (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Leverkusen’s admiration for Hurzeler coincides with doubts about the viability of his longevity at the Amex Stadium after fierce criticism from sections of the fanbase. There were ups and downs in his first season — easily forgiven as a newcomer to the league and the level, having previously managed in Germany’s second division — but year two has been more turbulent.
From fifth in the table at the end of November, a winter nosedive featuring one league win in 13 matches dropped his team to 14th in February. But a fourth win in five, at home to Liverpool (2-1) in their final fixture before this international break, has lifted them back up to 10th, within touching distance of the European places.
Some vocal Brighton supporters called for Hurzeler to be sacked after a 1-0 home defeat by rivals Crystal Palace on February 8. The way he has negotiated choppy waters, sticking to his belief in a pressing style in and out of possession and staying consistent, is a box ticked for any potential suitors.
It should be remembered that this is his first job at elite level, having led Hamburg-based St. Pauli to the 2023-24 2.Bundesliga title in his first full season having stepped up from an assistant role midway through the previous one.
Leverkusen are unlikely to be the only club monitoring his progress.
The reputation of Sebastian Hoeness is growing all the time, due to the job he is doing as fellow Bundesliga side Stuttgart’s manager. They could be heading back to the Champions League, which could prompt interest in the 43-year-old elsewhere. If that were to happen, Hurzeler would again become a name to watch elsewhere in his home country.
In the Premier League, the failure of Thomas Frank at relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur this season, before the disastrous reign of Igor Tudor, would probably count against Hurzeler as a contender for that job. Would they go again so quickly for a manager stepping up from one of the league’s smaller clubs after Frank’s unsuccessful switch last summer from Brentford?
Eddie Howe is under external pressure at Newcastle United in the wake of their 8-3 exit on aggregate against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League and their fall to 12th in the table — a point below Brighton — after losing 2-1 at home to neighbours Sunderland in their most recent match. Adding to two wins and a draw in four meetings across all competitions against Howe’s side at St James’ Park on May 2 would strengthen Hurzeler’s credentials if the two clubs continue to head in opposite directions for the remainder of the campaign.
Hurzeler is young and ambitious, and he is also smart.
He has been perfecting his grasp of Spanish since joining Brighton. Versatile international midfielder Diego Gomez revealed recently during an interview with media from his homeland of Paraguay that if he does not understand instructions given to him in English, Hurzeler explains the details to him in Spanish. Being trilingual will benefit Hurzeler’s future job opportunities.
The 33-year-old is under contract at Brighton until June 2027. Any indication of a new deal has been conspicuous so far by its absence. Planning will be in place behind the scenes regarding the head coach position. It is the Brighton way under owner-chairman Tony Bloom and chief executive Paul Barber to keep such matters tight to the chest.
There is a caveat to the lack of noise. Bloom had in effect decided Chris Hughton in 2019 (poor results) and De Zerbi in 2024 (differences over recruitment policy) would be leaving at season’s end by the March in those respective years. He may feel Hurzeler has not done as well as hoped with approaching £300million ($400m) spent on signings during his time in charge, although several big-money sales were made before Hurzeler arrived and he lost the team’s attacking spearhead Joao Pedro to Chelsea in last summer’s window.
Hurzeler’s contract situation does not provide any cast-iron guarantees about his future, other than protecting Brighton’s interests financially. It will be dictated by results or who, if anybody, comes calling.
Then head coach Graham Potter was halfway through a six-year deal when he left for Chelsea in September 2022. Brighton received compensation in excess of £20million for him and members of his backroom staff who also made the move to west London.
Hurzeler has a strong relationship with Brighton’s senior figures. “I have a great board behind me, great staff members behind me,” he told The Athletic after that win against Liverpool. “I have, with the owner Tony Bloom and CEO Paul Barber, people who have supported me through the whole season.”
He is instinctively loyal, but Hurzeleer is in a precarious occupation. Brighton fans singing that he would be “Sacked in the morning” in the closing stages against bitter rivals Palace, then cheering him to the rafters six weeks later after beating champions Liverpool offered a reminder of the game’s fickle nature for those in the manager’s hotseat.
Those who do his job are often a few bad results away from a crisis — or worse — at clubs other than Brighton, with more of a propensity to make knee-jerk decisions. If bigger and better opportunities come along, striking while the iron is hot is a logical course of action, even when moves sometimes appear to make more sense for financial reasons than footballing ones and forsaking the comfort of operating in a stable environment.
It is possible that Hurzeler will face that dilemma this summer.