The Premier League table to highlight Hurzeler’s incredible work at Brighton | OneFootball

Brighton could yet secure Champions League football – and few could argue that Fabian Hurzeler would not deserve it.

The Seagulls currently sit in seventh place and look good for a return to European football next season.

But Brighton could earn a seat at the very top table, with Champions League football still a possibility with two games remaining.

If Aston Villa win the Europa League and finish fifth in the Premier League – they seem well placed for both – then six Champions League places will be up for grabs.

Brighton are currently seventh, two points behind Bournemouth in sixth. Both are in fine form, but the Cherries have Manchester City to play in their remaining two games with Pep Guardiola’s men still chasing the title.

The Seagulls, though, face Leeds United, who are already safe, and a Manchester United side assured of third place.

Finishing in the top six and the subsequent rewards would be apt for Brighton since that’s where Hurzeler has had the Seagulls since he took over.

Eyebrows were raised when the German became the youngest ever permanent Premier League manager in the summer of 2024.

Roberto De Zerbi looked set to be a tough act to follow, especially for a manager younger than many of the senior players he was inheriting.

James Milner was 38; Danny Welbeck 33 and captain Lewis Dunk was 15 months older than Hurzeler when the manager was hired from St Pauli, where he led the Hamburg-based team to the Bundesliga.2 title.

Hurzeler, though, has helped Brighton progress even further, perhaps all the way to the Champions League.

The Premier League table since he took over has Brighton in sixth place, only four points behind Chelsea.

That’s the same Chelsea who have spent a billion and a half since 2022, with Brighton trousering almost £300million having sold many of their best players to the Blues as well as Graham Potter, the manager De Zerbi replaced.

During his reign so far, Hurzeler is also out-performing Eddie Howe at Newcastle, Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth and, in the Premier League, Oliver Glasner at Palace.

Yet Hurzeler doesn’t get linked with the same opportunities the others do. Of course, time is on his side and Brighton have moved to insulate themselves by extending Hurzeler’s contract to 2029. By which point, he will still only be 36.