Brighton and Hove Albion have stepped closer to making 31-year old Fabian Hurzeler their new head coach after obtaining a governing body endorsement (GBE) work permit.

An official approach has been made to his Bundesliga club St Pauli and talks are advancing.

Hurzeler would become the youngest permanent head coach to have managed in the Premier League if all goes well.

Brighton have been searching for the right candidate to replace Roberto de Zerbi since the Italian left at the end of the season and have held discussions with a number of contenders including their former boss Graham Potter, Steve Cooper and Malmö’s Henrik Rydstrom.

Another target, Kieran McKenna opted to sign a new contract with Ipswich.

Texas-born Hurzeler has been with St Pauli for 18 months – since being appointed as the club’s youngest ever coach at the age of 29 – and has just secured promotion and their return to the Bundesliga after a 13-year absence.

He had a lower league playing career with Bayer Munich’s reserve side, where he was a teammate of Borussia Dortmund captain Emre Can, and similarly with Hoffenheim and 1860 Munich before ending his playing days at just 23. He went into coaching and was awarded his UEFA Pro Licence at 30.

Hurzeler visited Brighton to study de Zerbi’s methods last year and is a big admirer of the club’s methods.

He has no release clause in his St Pauli contract but an agreement was in place allowing him to hold talks if a top club made an approach.