Jan Paul van Hecke: Tottenham agree £52m deal for Brighton defender | football news

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

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

The centre-back only wanted to join Tottenham.

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

The 26-year-old will make a serious profit from Brighton, signing him from NAC Breda for £1.8m in 2020.

The deal is part of a massive few weeks of planning at Tottenham, with the club determined to back De Zerby in the market and planning major changes.

The club have a strong interest in Newcastle midfielder Sandro TonaliWhile they were also interested in Manchester City forward Savinho.

Van Hecke signing the award for De Jarby

Sky Sports’ Michael Bridges:

It’s full commitment in De Zerbi and you could even say a reward for keeping Spurs. He has retained the club and is now given full control and has the final say on transfers.

With Van Heck, they are getting a defender who is as comfortable on the ball as Marcos Senesi and adept at taking opposing players out of play.

Yes, it is a great price. Simply put, De Zerby wanted the player.

Many will be surprised about Christian Romero. On his day, he is one of the best defenders in the world. But, that was in its day. He is playing about 50 percent of the time because of injuries and suspensions. There was a lot of speculation about whether he would see his team in the final game of the season.

I think if a big offer comes in for Romero, they will consider it. The key is whether they get a bigger offer.

Analysis: De Zerbi’s transfer plan to Spurs is clear

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

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

With Marcos Senesi’s free transfer already confirmed – Spurs are looking for great ball-forwards in the early stages of the game – to agree a deal for van Heek.

In Senesi and Van Hecke, de Zerby targets two of the Premier League’s best in this particular area. They were the top two players in the league last season for passing the ball past defenders.

Quite simply, they are able to soak up back pressure and take opposition players out of play by putting the ball through the line.

Under Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Senesi was used to a very direct, vertical style of play where he quickly punched the ball through the third.

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

This work has been developed by Fabian Hürzeler, who told Sky Sports in 2024: “It helps that the coach I had here before was De Zerby because he integrated this style of play,” when asked about his defenders playing 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 Heyke are a level above Christian Romero and Micky van de Ven in terms of passing ability.

If Spurs get both players, what will that mean for Spurs’ current centre-half?