Brighton CEO Paul Barber has confirmed that the South Coast club have rejected a second bid for Jan Paul van Hecke from Tottenham.
Tottenham made their first move for Van Hecke earlier this week and had their first offer for the defender knocked back by Brighton.
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Van Hecke is open to joining Tottenham, and work remains ongoing to find an agreement with the South Coast club for the 25-year-old.
But after seeing their initial bid rejected, the Lilywhites have now had a second bid also refused and now Spurs must determine their next step.
Tottenham have a second Jan Paul van Hecke bid rejected
Tottenham Hotspur have a second Jan Paul van Hecke bid rejected by Brighton and Hove Albion, Paul Barber confirmed on TalkSPORT.
The Lilywhites are also facing “a lot of interest” in the defender, with Chelsea and Manchester City also reportedly keen on him.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Barber said: “There’s always going to be a lot of interest in our best players, and certainly in the case of Jan Paul.
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“Again, we’ve been very clear that interest has been ongoing for a while, it’s coming from multiple sources, but yes, we have rejected a bid from Tottenham over the last week or so, in fact, two bids.
“As I said, it has to be right for us, as well as for the player; we have to be in a position to make the best trades to suit our model.”
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Van Hecke has just one year remaining on his current deal, so Brighton are under slight pressure to sell, but with a lot of interest, perhaps they could hope for a bidding war.
Roberto De Zerbi has previously worked with Van Hecke during his time at the Amex Stadium and is keen to be reunited with him at Tottenham.
Now, the North London club will need to go back to the negotiating table and make a third offer for the Dutch international if they are to gift him to De Zerbi.