Jan Paul van Hecke might soon be reunited with Roberto De Zerbi.
Tottenham Hotspur have been looking to revamp their defence going into the ongoing summer window, and the Lilywhites are moving quite aggressively already after having submitted an opening bid to bring in Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton.
Though that bid from the North Londoners was rejected by the Seagulls, it surely sends a clear message out of N17 about Spurs wanting to give Roberto De Zerbi his man given how his reunion with his main man defensively while the pair were at Brighton can end up being the signing that transforms the rebuild at Hotspur Way.
The 25-year-old Dutchman has come through as a priority target at N17 for the summer given that most of the Lilywhites faithful are already expecting Cristian Romero to find his way out the door.
Recent news from the ever-reliable David Ornstein (via The Athletic) confirms that the talks are ongoing between the clubs, with Van Hecke already closing in to agree on personal terms with the English giants.
If you go on and ask a Tottenham fan right now, they will hope that bringing him to N17 will be more of a matter of when and not if. But what does precisely bringing him to Tottenham really bring? That is exactly what we want to take a look at…
Tottenham will finally get a ball-playing centre-back in Jan Paul van Hecke, one who is built for De Zerbi’s system
If you know the sense of philosophy that De Zerbi wants to implement at N17, the former Marseille man won’t be happy with getting in defenders who simply defend well. He has always had a preference for defenders who bring that sense of initiation in the first phase, and that is exactly what Van Hecke is.
He is someone who has been more of an architect at the back for the Seagulls. He reads the shape of the press before it arrives and finds a way through it in the first phase. And he can do both; he can not only find a pass through the press but also carry the ball through it if needed.
And that is what you see in the sea if you look at his carrying numbers as well. He has averaged 2.17 carries per 90 minutes in 2025/26, which places him in the 98th percentile among center-backs. Now this shows how he is really good at actively scanning the opponent’s press and finding a way out of it. He anticipates space ahead of him and trusts himself to find a way to get the ball to the front rather than recycle it backward.
He also has an 87% pass completion rate with roughly 69 passes per game, and ideally, these sorts of numbers will end up rivalling some of the midfielders in the English top tier.
De Zerbi should start rebuilding around a possession-first identity in the off-season at Hotspur Way. And the composure that the Dutch defender brings on the ball will suddenly not be a nice-to-have skill but more of a non-negotiable.
Tottenham finds the ideal partner in crime for Micky van de Ven, but also one who already knows him
One of the more pressing problems that Tottenham had going into this window was to bring in someone who has that capacity to function seamlessly beside Micky van de Ven, given that Romero already has a foot and a half out of Tottenham (or at least that is what many fans think).
So when we start writing down the qualities that Van De Ven possesses, he is rapid and aggressive in the press while being at his best when the defensive line sits high and pins opponents back. These traits demand someone alongside him who prefers defending spaces rather than marking out numbers, and that is where Van Hecke comes into the picture.
When you look at Brighton play with JP, you suddenly see that he is a front-foot defender who is quite comfortable holding a high line. Time and again, you see him trust his recovery pace and anticipation to deal with the ball over the top. He is one of those modern CBs who doesn’t really retreat to manage danger but is quite eager to eliminate the danger itself altogether.
With Van de Ven on one side and Van Hecke on the other, Tottenham will suddenly have two of the most aggressive and space-defending centre-backs in the Premier League.
And to add to it, both of them are quite familiar with the international setup, which aids a sense of chemistry in a partnership that many Tottenham fans will go to sleep dreaming about tonight.
Tottenham get that proven Premier League quality who has goals in him
We have seen Tottenham finish two successive seasons in that seventeenth (17th) position in the Premier League table, and something needs to change now. Time and again this dressing room needed Romero to step up with his intensity and leadership, but that hasn’t happened, and with him leaving, that void needs to be filled by someone who has already demonstrated they can carry a defence.
While on the other side of things, Van Hecke stepped into exactly that role at Brighton this season. He contributed three goals and three assists across his 40 appearances for the Seagulls, also showing how he can bring goal involvements from set pieces and transitions.
Chelsea was looking at him exactly because his leadership qualities addressed a critical deficiency. And this ideally also just applies to the need at hand at Tottenham.
Van Hecke is twenty-five, and that seems like a good spot for him. He has enough experience to step into a defence at N17 right away but still also has time to develop.
Brighton turned down the first offer from Tottenham because it did not match what they wanted with their intended price supposed to be around 80 million, and given that his deal on Brighton’s shores runs out in 2027, they might want to get the most they can this summer.