Credit: The Brighton Base
Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed that Brighton have spoken with Kaoru Mitoma and Jan Paul van Hecke about extending their contracts with the club.
The duo are heading into the final 12 months of their respective deals at the Amex Stadium, and with the summer transfer window on the horizon, conversations are ongoing about the long-term futures of both players.
Saudi Pro League clubs have long admired Mitoma, but European sides have been monitoring his situation for several years as well. Van Hecke has a number of suitors both within the Premier League and abroad.
Asked about the pair, Hurzeler said: “I think the players know where they stand. We know what we want from them. They know what we want from them. So, therefore, I think it’s very important to be very transparent, to be clear about the future, but the most important in football is always to be now, in the present.
“The present is the only thing what we can control, what the players can control. In the end, every player has a vision, has a goal in their career.
“But it’s not important to chase the dream. The dream will come to you if you are excellent today, if you are excellent tomorrow, if you keep controlling the things you can control and try to be the best version of yourself every day.
“Then you will see what happens, but I think it’s very important to stay in the present, to not focus too much on the future, because the future you can’t influence. You can impact the day-to-day. You can influence the day-to-day. That’s the only thing I focus on and where the player focus on as well.”
Both Van Hecke and Mitoma will be hoping to feature at [this summer’s World Cup](/brighton-news-fifa-world-cup-2026-squads-players-kaoru-mitoma-bart-verbruggen/), and impressive performances on the global stage could certainly stir up interest. However, Hurzeler is refusing to rule out a world in which both commit their futures to the Seagulls.
Pressed on whether there was a possibility that both players sign new deals, the German boss said: “In football, like we all know, it’s definitely everything possible. I think both know that I really enjoy working with them.
“They are both very important players for this club. We don’t have to hide this opinion. We should be quite honest about this but, in the end, you can only impact certain things and there are always two sides – the club side, the player side.
“But I think they all know what they have playing for Brighton. They all know that Brighton gave them the opportunity to develop, gave them an opportunity to play on the highest level in the best league in the world and therefore let’s see what happens.”