There was a time when a World Cup would effectively put the summer transfer window on pause.
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Gary Lineker made Barcelona wait until after the 1986 World Cup, even after they had attempted to issue a “now or never” ultimatum to his agent, delivered by phone to his hotel in Mexico.
There were no such complications with Barcelona signing their latest England star, Anthony Gordon, who joined the Spanish champions from Newcastle United for €80million (£69.3m; $93.2m) before flying out to meet his international team-mates.
Tottenham have been decisive in their pre-tournament moves too. They have signed experienced Premier League duo Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi, from Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively, as free agents — and their continued activity suggests they are far from done.
Spurs got out in front of the competition to sign Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton & Hove Albion for £52million ($68.6m). Sporting a nasty black eye — cue the Spurs injury jokes — sustained in their 2-2 draw with Japan, his World Cup debut, Van Hecke completed his medical in Kansas City, where the Netherlands are based.
Like Robertson and Senesi, Van Hecke is a player Tottenham admired long before Roberto De Zerbi took the reins on March 31. With one year remaining on his contract, Van Hecke, 26, represented an opportunity to sign a player with Premier League and elite international experience, approaching his prime, for less than their typical market value. De Zerbi, with whom he shares a “really strong connection” after working together at Brighton, provided the final flourish.
After the January window, sporting director Johan Lange spoke publicly about the intention to pursue “the right players” who could help the team’s long-term ambitions, rather than be influenced by short-term fixes.
It was a decision that came agonisingly close to incurring the immeasurable financial and reputational costs of relegation. Ultimately, it may pay dividends. Tottenham have long had the potential to conduct themselves like a ‘big’ Premier League club in the market, and their swift and successful pursuit of Van Hecke is an indication that they are getting out ahead of their competition to secure primary targets.
While there has been some suggestion that such a fee for a player with one year left on his contract is hardly outstanding business, Tottenham are not in a position to haggle.
Indecision in the market led to successive 17th-place finishes, but this could be the type of deal Spurs could shave millions off in the future if signings like these help to bring them back into Europe and strengthen their negotiating position.
Including Pedro Porro’s contract extension, it’s Tottenham’s fourth defensive signing of the summer and signals De Zerbi’s intention to revamp the squad. After breaking through at Brighton under the Italian in 2023, Van Hecke is considered among the best ball-playing centre-backs in the Premier League.
Last season, Van Hecke led the English top flight in line-breaking passes (457), a highly encouraging feat, considering Tottenham’s protracted struggles in building central possession through the thirds.
As a right-sided central defender, he played an essential role in the build-up for Fabian Hurzeler’s side, as he was often tasked with zipping passes into midfielders and forwards. And with typical first-choice right-sided centre-back Jurrien Timber failing to recover in time from a groin injury, Van Hecke has continued firing passes through the lines for the Netherlands at the World Cup. Here are three examples of the centre-back finding Tijjani Reijnders with a reverse pass through Japan’s midfield.
In this aspect, he appears a like-for-like replacement for Cristian Romero, who could be on his way after a disappointing season as captain. But as defenders, they profile quite differently.
Romero is as front-footed as defenders come, looking to engage at the point of contact wherever possible. Van Hecke is more comfortable maintaining his position on the line, likely due to a visible lack of recovery pace, though he ranked in the top five in the league for interceptions (47) last term.
And while he is profiled as a “channel defender” on our player dashboards, reflecting his capacity and tendency to move into wide areas, he can struggle as a one-v-one defender when isolated.
Here’s an example of Van Hecke being beaten fairly easily in the box by West Ham United right-back Oliver Scarles.
And another instance where he allows Burnley winger Loum Tchaouna a chance to cross, though it was late in the game and there is no questioning his commitment to block the delivery.
Given Porro’s tendency to push higher up and into more central areas, these may be situations Van Hecke finds himself in regularly at Spurs. It will be up to De Zerbi to devise a system to offer protection.
Van Hecke and fellow Dutchman Micky van de Ven is an interesting partnership, given that both seem more comfortable as covering defenders. Senesi, whose instinct is to win the ball high, complements his game more naturally, as does Kevin Danso, who ended the season excellently and should not be overlooked.
With or without Romero, Tottenham’s early-window business has provided De Zerbi with the players he needs to execute in the first phase of play. The challenge now is to secure their in-demand targets to ensure they are as formidable in midfield and attack.