Roberto De Zerbi announced his departure from Brighton & Hove Albion in mid-May, but the club had to wait nearly a month to find his replacement.
Brighton moved quickly for their first pick, having already done research on who would be best suited to step in at the AMEX Stadium, and their analytical method led them to Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna.
Despite agreeing to terms with McKenna, he chose to stay with the freshly promoted Championship side and sign a new long-term contract at Portman Road.
Brighton conducted a new search for a second-tier manager, but this time from Germany, rather than England.
Fabian Hurzeler agrees terms with Premier League Brighton
HITC can confirm that Brighton have agreed to terms with St Pauli head coach Fabian Hurzeler, after declaring him their priority target last week.
The Texas-born 31-year-old has been in charge of St Pauli for two seasons, leading them to the Bundesliga Zwei title, but he will not be available to coach them in the top level.
Hurzeler is currently on track to become the Premier League’s youngest full-time manager, breaking the record set by Chris Coleman, who was 32 when he was appointed Fulham manager after serving as their interim manager.
New coach is set to bring Bayern Munich DNA to the AMEX
Hurzeler began his football career with Bayern Munich’s academy, where he played for the second team for a few seasons before moving on to Hoffenheim and 1860 Munich’s reserve teams before becoming a coach at age 23.
He is now preparing to come to England, and many will be unsure what to anticipate, but he confesses that his early experiences at Bayern have had an impact on him.
Speaking to the Bundesliga’s official website last month, he revealed: “Of course, it appears that I am a defensive coach who prefers to play defensively, but that is not the case.
“I played for Bayern Munich for many years, and the DNA there is to win and have the ball. We were always in possession of the ball, which I enjoyed as a player and, of course, as a coach. To control the ball and dominate the game.”