Hurzeler: We have players who can step up and provide experience

Albion lost players with a lot of Premier League knowhow in the summer, but the head coach believes different leaders will emerge

Nick Szczepanik

2026-08-10T06:30+01:00

Fabian Hurzeler is looking at player with 'a good football age' like Mats Wieffer to show their experience. 📷James Boardman

Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler believes that his squad has enough experience despite the departures this summer of James Milner, Solly March, Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck.

And he expects players such as Bart Verbruggen, Jack Hinshelwood and Georginio Rutter to step into the leadership roles they have vacated.

“First of all, I think it's very important to understand we can't replace the players one-to-one,” he said. “That means you have to replace them as a team.

“That means everyone has to step up. I demand from every player to take more ownership, to take more responsibility.

“Second of all, of course, they've played several years in the Premier League, like Bart Verbruggen and Jack Hinshelwood, also like Georginio, who's been here for two years, and Babis [Kostoulas] is here one year.

“So these kind of players, they know what the demands of the Premier League are. They know what it means to be successful and we need to help them now. We need to build this environment where they can step up, where they can take responsibility.

Bart Verbruggen's Premier League experience will be important this season.

“It won't happen overnight. Like, for example, James Milner, he is now, or he was now when he finished, the best leader he ever was. But when he was 23, 24, he still [had to] keep learning, keep learning, keep learning.

“So we need to give them the platform where they can do this. We need to give them the help where they can do this, the support, but we also need to challenge them.

“And I'm 100 per cent sure when we give them the time and give them the environment where they can do it, long-term it will pay off.”

The head coach also pointed out that, while young players such as Luka Vuskovic and Zadoc Yohanna (both 19) may need guidance from senior players, other newcomers and recent arrivals bring experience of their own.

“We shouldn't forget that we added some players in a really good football age,” he said. “We have players, [Michael] Svoboda, Pascal Struijk, aged 26, 27, Ferdi Kadioglu, 26, Mats Wieffer, 26. Then we still have Jason Steele, Pascal Gross, we have Lewis Dunk. So I think we have a really good balance.

“Experience doesn't always mean if you're old, then you're experienced. I think you gain more and more experience every time you play in the Premier League.”