City flag of Brighton & Hove with white seagull on blue ground flying at Hove Lawns Seafront, Brighton, East Sussex.
New Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler says he intends to ‘challenge the establishment’ after arriving at the Premier League club, with interest in Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville still strong.
The Seagulls have signed winger Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle United this week, but were the first side to express interest in Leeds’ Dutch star. Liverpool, Chelsea and Paris St-Germain are all weighing up moves for the talented 22-year-old who could be the next big name to leave Elland Road following Archie Gray’s departure.
Leeds are likely to be able to command a fee of around £35-40m for last season’s Championship player of the year, and while Liverpool and Chelsea are able to offer European football, Hurzeler was not shy of setting out his ambitions after arriving at the Amex Stadium from German side St Pauli.
“I’m aware this is a huge job,” said the 31-year-old. “It’s a big challenge and I think I need a lot of courage and ability so I need to stay humble,”
“My targets, I want to discuss them with my players, they need to be convinced of that, they need to feel what we can achieve, that’s the main thing for me. I want to achieve big things and I want to challenge the establishment.
“The Premier League is the best league in the world with a lot of good coaches. You need your own philosophy and identity but it’s important to take other elements and adapt.”
Hurzeler replaced Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, with the Italian stepping down at the end of last term following two successful seasons in the hotseat before taking charge at French side Marseille. De Zerbi helped Brighton earn a first-ever European adventure with a sixth-placed finish in 2022-23, when they also reached the FA Cup semi-finals, and he led the Seagulls to the Europa League last 16 last season.
Hurzeler added: “Roberto De Zerbi had a huge impact on the football world with a different style of football. Of course I will take some elements (from him) but I have my own philosophy and you can’t copy anyone.
