Chelsea, Man Utd suffer managerial blow as ‘attractive option’ agrees new contract

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler has agreed to sign a new contract at the club, despite reported interest from some of Europe’s biggest teams.

The 33-year-old has experienced a rollercoaster 2025-26 campaign at the Amex Stadium; he oversaw a poor run of just one win in 13 Premier League matches between December and February, leading to some supporters calling for him to be sacked.

However, Brighton have turned a corner under Hurzeler over the last few months and are now one of the in-form teams in the Premier League, with 19 points collected across their last 10 games (W6 D1 L3) helping the Seagulls soar into European contention.

With just three games remaining, Brighton currently sit eighth in the table and just two points behind sixth; the Seagulls could qualify for next season’s Champions League if they were to finish sixth and Aston Villa go on to win the Europa League after finishing fifth.

Spirits are high on the South Coast and multiple reports are claiming that Hurzeler has agreed to sign a new long-term contract, with his current deal due to run out in 2027.

Chelsea, Man Utd, Leverkusen considered Hurzeler before Brighton agreement

This new deal represents a blow for a number of interested suitors in the Seagulls boss, including Bayer Leverkusen who have been heavily linked with the Texan-born German coach as they seek to replace Kasper Hjulmand.

According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea had conducted background work on Hurzeler as part of their ongoing hunt for a permanent head coach, with his tactical approach, leadership style and ability to work with young players making him an ‘attractive option’ at the highest level.

Chelsea sacked Liam Rosenior in April, just 106 days after he succeeded Enzo Maresca in the Stamford Bridge hotseat; Calum McFarlane is now in interim charge until the end of the season, with the Blues in danger of failing to qualify for Europe.

The report adds that Manchester United have also been monitoring Hurzeler, but the club’s hierarchy are now said to be convinced that Michael Carrick is the man to take the club forward and they were merely doing due diligence on alternative targets should Carrick opt against taking the permanent job.

Hurzeler to commit future to European-chasing Brighton

The decision for Hurzeler to commit his future to Brighton comes as a huge boost for the club, who hope to regularly challenge for the European places in years to come.

Hurzeler, who recently expressed how "totally committed" he is to Brighton, became the youngest manager in Premier League history, aged just 31, when he replaced Roberto De Zerbi as Seagulls head coach in the summer of 2024.

He has since taken charge of 85 Brighton matches across all competitions, winning 37, drawing 25 and losing 23 (43.5% win ratio).

It has previously been reported that Hurzeler’s current deal includes a release clause valued in the region of €15m (£13.1m), and it remains to be seen whether his new contract will include a similar clause that can be activated by other clubs in the future.