Brighton and Hove Albion appointed Fabian Hurzeler as Roberto De Zerbi’s successor last week.
He will become the youngest head coach in Premier League history at 31, having guided St Pauli to promotion to the Bundesliga in his first full season in charge.
From a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, Brighton underwhelmed last year, with only two players – Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro – surpassing the 100-point mark.
But can Hurzeler, who has been compared to Julian Nagelsmann, reinvigorate their assets in 2024/25?
Here, we profile Hurzeler and ask what we can expect from the German tactician.
IN QUOTES
“I am absolutely thrilled to be the new head coach of Brighton and Hove Albion. After speaking to Tony [Bloom], Paul [Barber] and David [Weir] it was clear they are highly ambitious. Brighton have a unique history and a 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.” – Fabian Hurzeler
“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 eighteen 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.” – Tony Bloom (Brighton chairman)
HISTORY
Hurzeler’s playing career was mainly focused in the German lower tiers, appearing for Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and 1860 Munich’s second teams. His coaching career started in 2016, however.
By 2018, he was an assistant manager for Germany’s under-18 and under-20s teams, after which he joined St Pauli, first with responsibility for video analysis, before graduating to an assistant coach role under Timo Schultz.
After Schultz’s dismissal in December 2022, Hurzeler was appointed interim head coach, which later led to a permanent role.
His impact was instant. St Pauli were only above the 2. Bundesliga relegation play-off place on goal difference when Hurzeler was first appointed, but he guided the club to a fifth-place finish and then to the title the following season.
TACTICS
“It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Brighton, of Roberto De Zerbi, of the way in which he plays football. He’s a manager who has achieved a lot with very little.
“Brighton isn’t a club which has spent a lot of money, they don’t have quite the same financial possibilities as other Premier League clubs, and yet De Zerbi gets the most out of his squad by playing brave, active football. That’s something I can really identify with.” – Fabian Hurzeler
The likes of De Zerbi, Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel heavily influence Hurzeler’s style of play.
His teams look to dominate and control the ball. Last season, for example, his St Pauli side averaged 57.4% possession, the second-highest figure in 2. Bundesliga.
There is a nice balance between defence and attack. St Pauli registered the most shots during the 2023/24 campaign, but crucially, they also had the best defensive record, conceding only 36 goals in 34 games.
Their 10 clean sheets ranked fourth-best, meanwhile.
“I played most of my career for Bayern Munich, it’s in their DNA to keep possession and be dominant with the ball and to try and control the game like that. But you also need to play with intensity, to counter-press strongly and be balanced in every phase of the game.” – Fabian Hurzeler
St Pauli 23/24 best XI graphic taken from WhoScored
With St Pauli, Hurzeler deployed a 3-4-3 formation, which shifted into a solid 5-2-3 without the ball. However, this was very much a base shape.
The goalkeeper, for example, was used as an additional passing option, while the middle centre-back (Eric Smith) would step up into midfield.
This allowed one of the midfielders, Marcel Hartel, to push further forward. From this position, he was the fourth-highest scorer in 2. Bundesliga, with 17 goals (including three penalties). He also claimed 12 assists and created the second-most chances (94).
Meanwhile, the advanced wing-backs held the width, with the right-sided Manolis Saliakas forming a decent partnership with right winger Dapo Afolayan, formerly of Chelsea’s academy.
St Pauli played the fourth-most crosses in the division and were particularly dangerous from cut-backs, with Afolayan contributing nine goals and three assists in 27 league starts. While on the left, Elias Saad scored seven times and provided one assist.
“I’m fundamentally an advocate of possession football. But the key question is: how do you get into the final third? After that, it’s down to individual players to make the difference with creativity and pace. But it’s the job of the coach to get those players into the right positions in the first place.” – Fabian Hurzeler
ST PAULI 2023/24: PLAYER STATS
| Player | Position | Starts | Goals | Assists | Shots per game | Key passes per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasilj | GK | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Wahl | RCB | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Smith | CB | 26 | 1 | 3 | 1.2 | 0.5 |
| Mets | LCB | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Saliakas | RWB | 31 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.4 |
| Irvine | CM | 26 | 6 | 9 | 2.1 | 1.2 |
| Hartel | CM | 33 | 17 | 12 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Ritzka | LWB | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Afolayan | RW | 27 | 9 | 3 | 1.8 | 1 |
| Saad | LW | 25 | 7 | 1 | 2.1 | 1.4 |
| Eggestein | CF | 27 | 9 | 4 | 2.2 | 1.5 |
*Stats taken from WhoScored
THE FPL PROSPECTS
Hurzeler’s first game in charge will be at Goodison Park. Brighton will then take on Manchester United in his first home game, which is followed by a daunting trip to Arsenal.
Promoted Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest head to the Amex after, which carries appeal, but it’s followed by another tricky run right up until Gameweek 11.
A better time to invest in a Brighton player might be Gameweek 12, then, which at least gives us plenty of time to scout their assets.
This particular run, from Gameweeks 12-18, sees Albion top the Season Ticker:
From a Fantasy perspective, Brighton were poor last season. They ranked joint-12th for goals scored (55) and joint-10th for goals conceded (62), with a mere six clean sheets.
However, the underlying stats hinted at more (see below), offering a bit of encouragement for the new campaign. The fact they aren’t in Europe adds further appeal.
| Metric | Total (PL rank) |
|---|---|
| Expected goals (xG) | 58.02 (9th) |
| Shots taken | 561 (5th) |
| Expected goals conceded (xGC) | 56.44 (7th) |
| Shots faced | 468 (6th) |
“Looking at it, to me the squad has great balance. We have the more experienced players like Pascal [Gross], Lewis [Dunk], James [Milner] and Danny [Welbeck] who have had a lot of success in their careers and then some fabulous youngsters like Jack Hinshelwood.” – Fabian Hurzeler
The fact that Hurzerler has already namechecked Jack Hinshelwood is interesting. The youngster featured as an adventurous right-back last season, chipping in with three goals, but his natural position is in central midfield. We could potentially have an out-of-position prospect on our hands, then.
Gross had another good season in 2023/24. His tally of 103 chances created was more than any other Premier League player except Bruno Fernandes.
Netherlands ‘keeper Bart Verbruggen could appear on the radar, too. De Zerbi made 143 changes to Brighton’s line-up last season, the most rotation by any team in the Premier League.
It was rife in goal, leaving Verbruggen and Jason Steele unbuyable. However, St Pauli shot-stopper Nikola Vasilj was a permanent fixture in the 2. Bundesliga last season, so goalkeeper tinkering will hopefully be a thing of the past.
There are plenty of other players to monitor in pre-season.
Jan Paul van Hecke has proven he can do a job in midfield before, so he could be deployed in the ‘Smith’ role, while Hurzeler’s preference for wing-backs could bring Pervis Estupinan back into contention, once fit of course.
And what about Mitoma, Solly March and Julio Enciso? A return to their 2022/23 output would be welcome, given that they will all be competitively priced in FPL.
Deniz Undav, meanwhile, claimed 19 goals and 10 assists whilst on loan at VfB Stuttgart last season. His future will become clearer after the European Championship.
Brighton are touring Japan in late July, so it’s all eyes on pre-season, as Hurzeler’s 3-4-3 system absolutely has the potential to throw up some Fantasy gems.
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