Brighton & Hove Albion have reached an agreement for a new long-term contract with their head coach, Fabian Hurzeler.
The 33-year-old German manager has one year left on his existing contract at the Amex Stadium, but he is set to sign an extension that will keep him on the south coast for an extended period.
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Hurzeler joined Brighton at the start of the previous season after a successful tenure at St Pauli.
The Seagulls are currently placed eighth in the Premier League with 50 points and three matches left to play, as they aim for European qualification for only the second time in the club’s history.
Brighton appointed Hurzeler in June 2024, making him the youngest full-time manager in Premier League history at just 31 years old.
He took over from Roberto de Zerbi, who departed after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season and recently took the helm at Tottenham Hotspur.
Under Hurzeler’s leadership, Brighton achieved an eighth-place finish in his inaugural season. However, they missed out on European qualification as their local rivals, Crystal Palace, won the FA Cup.
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Brighton’s sole UEFA campaign occurred in the 2023-24 Europa League after they finished sixth under De Zerbi, who replaced Graham Potter earlier that season when Potter moved to Chelsea.
This marked Brighton’s highest finish in the top flight, and Hurzeler has the opportunity to replicate this success, as his team is just two points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth.
There remains a slim chance that finishing sixth in the Premier League could earn a Champions League spot this season.
Brighton still has a mathematical chance of surpassing Aston Villa for the fifth and final guaranteed Champions League qualification spot, though they lag eight points behind with only three games remaining.
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Hurzeler developed through the youth system at Bayern Munich, but he ended his playing career at 23 to pursue a future in coaching at lower levels.
He later became an assistant coach at St Pauli in 2020 and took the reins of the team in December 2022, ultimately guiding them to the Bundesliga 2 title in 2024.
Hurzeler had been rumored to return to Germany’s Bundesliga – with Bayer Leverkusen as a potential destination – but his impressive performance at Brighton has now earned him a new contract.