And he is delighted to see the skipper commit himself to helping turn around Albion’s current fortunes.
Albion told Dunk he had permission to talk to Nottingham Forest over a potential move which would have included a pay rise and ,longer contract.
But he was happy to stay with his hometown club, where is currently committed until the end of next season.
His first target will be to lift them out of a worrying spiral of current form and back into the top half of the Premier League table.
Dunk has spoken about Albion stepping up their training levels after the defeat by Crystal Palace.
Many fans will recall last season they trained too hard, which led to injuries.
By coincidence or not, Hurzeler was the latest he had ever been for his press conference on Tuesday.
Normally such media sessions are called for 9am and he turns up a couple of minutes early.
He has been just a few minutes late on occasion but it is very rare.
That is in total contrast to his immediate predecessor, who was routinely 45 minutes late arriving.
This time, Hurzeler faced questions in the afternoon – after training – and the players were still out on the pitch when their boss should have been taking his place before the lights and cameras.
Once the session kicked off, Hurzeler was asked about working with Dunk.
The Seagulls boss said: "We have a good relationship. I need him here as a leader.
“I really appreciate that he stays here and he keeps fighting for the club and that was kind of his words.
“I really appreciate his words and I really appreciate his performances.
“I think you might get distracted but he shows what he can give the club, still can give the club and what he gave the club in the past.”
The Argus understands Dunk was given the option of listening to the offer out of respect for what he has done for the club.
That is in line with club policy and it should be remembered the Forest approach came when Albion’s situation was not as concerning as it is now.
But it still seemed slightly alarming that, in theory, they were allowed to let their leader and key defender leave to another Prem club in mid-season.
Hurzeler said: “There are always two perspectives and it's very important to understand the player's perspective.
“There are always things that are going on in a transfer window.
“We had a good chat. We looked in each other's eyes and we spoke about it and then he made his decision.
"I really appreciate his decision and what makes me much more impressed is how he played afterwards.
“That’s not normal, that’s outstanding for me and deserves lot of credit.”