Kasper Hjulmand only walked through the doors at the BayArena in September, but Bayer Leverkusen are already drawing up a list of alternatives in case the summer brings a parting of ways, and Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler sits near the top of it.
Hjulmand was brought in as the second Leverkusen manager of the season, replacing Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman’s difficult start to life at the club following Xabi Alonso’s departure.
The Dane signed a deal until 2027 and was handed the task of stabilising a squad that had been taken apart and rebuilt almost entirely after the unbeaten 2024 Bundesliga title-winning season.
He guided them through a Champions League round of 16 tie against Arsenal, losing 3-1 on aggregate, and they currently sit sixth in the Bundesliga.
The issue is not one of internal conflict or broken relationships. The question, as Sky Sport DE’s Florian Plettenberg reports, is whether the sporting leadership at Leverkusen believes Hjulmand is the right long-term answer for what they are building.
Hurzeler, at 33, has drawn admiring glances from the Bundesliga since before he even left Germany. Leverkusen’s interest in him predates Hjulmand’s arrival, with the club having monitored him while he was still at St Pauli, where he led the Hamburg club back to the Bundesliga in 2024 before Brighton came calling.
He is in his second season at the Amex, currently sitting tenth in the Premier League, and his contract runs until 2027, which means both parties would need to move quickly if a summer deal is to happen.
Brighton would not make it easy. They have already seen Hurzeler attract interest from major clubs and held firm once before.
Whether they can do so again if a club with Leverkusen’s ambitions and resources come knocking formally is a harder question to answer..
