Tottenham Hotspur are no longer desperate for center back help in the summer transfer window this year, as it's quite obvious to everyone that Cristian Romero is going to be staying in North London for the foreseeable future despite some drama earlier in the window, particularly after Daniel Levy unceremoniously dumped Europa League-winning manager Ange Postecoglou.
Romero appears to have gotten off to a great start with new coach Thomas Frank, and with Son Heung-min's future at Tottenham still unsettled, the Argentinian World Cup and Copa America winner could yet wear the Tottenham armband after leading the team to the Europa League title with a Player of the Tournament performance.
Even Atletico Madrid have long since backed away from Romero, knowing that Tottenham are not interested in selling the 27-year-old center back. But even though Tottenham have two world-class center backs in Micky van de Ven and Romero with hopes that Kevin Danso will emerge as a third in 2025/26, they are still monitoring some of the best players availble in the Premier League.
Tottenham and Newcastle are watching top EPL defenders
In addition to long-time transfer target Marc Guehi over at Crystal Palace, Tottenham are also tracking Jan Paul van Hecke of Brighton fame alongside clubs like Newcastle United. Per a report from Dutch outlet Voetbal International's Joost Blaauwhof, Van Hecke has his eyes on Champions League clubs - of which Tottenham are one of them after winning the 2024/25 Europa League title - and Brighton will be open to selling him for a price of 50 million euros.
That's a hefty price, but Van Hecke is only just entering the prime of his career as a center back at the age of 25, and the Dutch international is coming off a career year in the Premier League as one of the English top flight's biggest breakout stars at the center back position.
Van Hecke now has two successful seasons of Premier League football under his belt as a regular starter for the Seagulls. He is a solid defender and one of the best in the league on the ball, completing 92.5 and 88.5 percent of his passes in the past two league seasons with 82.7 and 66.6 passes per game, respectively.
Tottenham clearly don't need another center back, and Van Hecke is overqualified to be a fourth-choice player. But like Guehi, he could make a lot of sense as a third option. Due to his experience and superior defensive skills, in addition to what should be a cheaper cost with one year on his contract, Guehi would be preferred if Tottenham do try to sign a top Premier League center back this summer, but Van Hecke is worth monitoring at least.