rewrite this title Jan Paul van Hecke: Tottenham agree deal for Brighton defender worth £52m

Tottenham have agreed a deal with Brighton to sign defender Jan Paul van Hecke.

The deal is believed to be around £52m and the player has expressed his desire to play under ‘father figure’ Roberto De Zerbi.

The centre-back only wanted to join Tottenham.

The Netherlands international defender has one year left on his contract at Brighton and played at The Seagulls under De Zerbi between 2023 and 2024.

Brighton would be making a serious profit on the 26-year-old, having signed him for £1.8m from NAC Breda in 2020.

The signing is part of a huge few weeks planned at Tottenham, with the club determined to back De Zerbi in the market and major changes planned.

The club have a strong interest in Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, while they also remained interested in Manchester City forward Savinho.

Analysis: De Zerbi’s transfer plan clear at Spurs

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out what Tottenham are trying to do in this transfer window: Roberto De Zerbi is looking for centre-backs who are better on the ball.

In agreeing a deal for Van Hecke – having already secured the free transfer of Marcos Senesi – Spurs are looking for excellent ball progressors in the first phase of play.

In Senesi and Van Hecke, De Zerbi is targeting two of the Premier League’s best in this specific area. These were the top two players in the league last season for bypassing defenders by passing the ball.

Quite simply, they are able to soak up pressure at the back and take opposition players out the game by putting the ball through the lines.

Under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, Senesi was used to a very direct, vertical style of play where he would punch the ball through the thirds quickly.

Van Hecke, meanwhile, is accustomed to De Zerbi’s intense style of play having played 50 matches under the Italian during their time together at Brighton.

That work has been built on by Fabian Hurzeler, who told Sky Sports in 2024: “It helps that the coach I had here before was De Zerbi because he integrated this style of play,” when asked about his defenders playing out from the back in dangerous areas.

Spurs getting two ball-playing defenders is a sign that this is something they feel they lack. The numbers back that up. Senesi and Van Hecke are a level above Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in terms of passing ability.

If Spurs end up getting both players, what will it mean for Spurs’ current centre-halves?