Bloom: Hurzeler's appointment not a gamble

Chairman Tony Bloom has said that he doesn’t see the appointment of Fabian Hurzeler as a gamble.

The 31-year-old’s arrival sees him become the youngest full-time head coach in Premier League history.

Despite his age, the German arrives at the Amex having guided St. Pauli to the 2. Bundesliga title last season.

“When Roberto De Zerbi left we had more time than previously in terms of making sure we made the right appointments,” Bloom said. “We took our time, we looked at all possible head coaches and Fabian's name stood out, given what he did over the last 18 months at St. Pauli.

“He was the standout candidate who was available and we had a meeting for about three or four hours and the conversation flowed.

“We were really impressed by how mature Fabian was and the way he talked about football. He spoke like a very experienced head coach and let's not forget, even though he’s fairly young, he's got five and a half years of coaching experience.

“We were really impressed. We think it’s a great fit for Albion and our fans, the players and the whole city should be very, very excited about this appointment."

The extensive process to appoint Hurzeler means that everything is taken into consideration, according to Bloom.

“I wouldn't talk about it as a gamble at all,” he continued. “We look at everything; we put a lot of effort and work into any head coach appointment as other clubs do and we think this Fabian is the best fit for the football club. We think it's the least risk option of all the options that we had. 

“We’re always looking forward and we look at every part of football and that includes the recruitment of the head coaches. We’re very happy with the appointment and even more happy to have Fabian here by my side.”