A former Tottenham senior scout believes that some Spurs fans are getting carried away with their assessments of one of the club’s big summer signings.
After struggling defensively at times at the start of the campaign, Roberto De Zerbi’s men have tightened things up at the back in a big way over recent weeks.
In fact, Tottenham have only conceded one goal across their last three matches and three in their last five.
Jan Paul van Hecke’s impressive displays at the back are now being recognised after the Dutchman was heavily criticised at the start of the season. However, the North London club’s former talent spotter is not convinced about the 26-year-old’s qualities just yet.
Former Tottenham scout calls to hold back on Jan Paul van Hecke praise
The Tottenham summer signing has been exceptional in producing line-breaking passes from the back, which is critical to De Zerbi’s system, which relies on centre-backs to be key playmakers.
However, former senior Spurs scout Bryan King believes that the Netherlands international is no Bobby Moore or Stuart Pearce, questioning whether the newcomer is good enough defensively.
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King told Football Insider: “I thought they [Leeds] looked a far better side than what Tottenham did. They should definitely have won by at least three goals.
“Everybody’s raving over the boy Van Heck. I’m seeing people saying that he’s in the same mould as Bobby Moore and Stuart Pearce. Yeah, alright. I think we’ll leave that where it is.
“The pair of them [Van Hecke and Van de Ven] haven’t got nowhere near the kind of steel that they had. The boy, [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin, he could have had a hat-trick. They were only fortunate that he never hit the target.”
Spurs’ control of the game helps limit chances
There have been questions raised about the Van Hecke-Van de Ven pairing’s aerial prowess, while their penalty box defending has not always been great either.
However, Spurs have hardly given away many chances to the opposition over their last few games, simply because they dominate the ball when they are at their best.
That is where Van Hecke’s skillset comes in handy, with the centre-back’s ability to produce line-breaking passes and recycle possession allowing Tottenham to have greater control of games.