According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur are ‘set to make a £55m offer’ for Jan Paul van Hecke after making a U-turn on Luka Vuskovic.
The north London side have done the most transfer business of any Premier League club at the start of this summer.
They have already signed Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on a free transfers, and they want to strengthen their defence further with the addition of Van Hecke.
Van Hecke, who is in the final year of his contract at Brighton, has emerged as a leading target for Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi, who worked with the centre-back at the Seagulls.
Tottenham have already had two bids rejected for Van Hecke, but you have to feel that they will eventually finalise a deal with Brighton.
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However, Spurs will ultimately have to overpay for Van Hecke, while Brighton are working to pull off the major coup of signing Vuskovic from the north London outfit.
The 19-year-old is coming off a breakout loan spell at Bundesliga side Hamburg, and he has been attracting interest from clubs around Europe in recent months.
Initially, it was reported that Spurs would push to keep Vuskovic ahead of next season, but our colleagues at TEAMtalk are now reporting that they have made a ‘U-turn’ and could now ‘sanction’ his exit after he ‘informed’ them of his desire to join Brighton.
Vuskovic reaches ‘full verbal agreement’ as Spurs set to make ‘third offer’ for Van Hecke
Brighton have lined up Vuskovic as a replacement for Van Hecke with a £30m bid, and the Spurs youngster reportedly feels that he can develop better at their Premier League rivals.
The report adds:
‘Brighton continue to value Van Hecke at more than £65million, while their £30million offer for Vuskovic has opened the door to a potential compromise between the clubs.
‘We can also confirm that Vuskovic’s representatives have floated the possibility of including a buy-back clause in any agreement.’
And German journalist Florian Plettenberg has added that Brighton and Vuskovic have a ‘full verbal agreement’ over personal terms.
Plettenberg said on X: ‘BREAKING | Understand Luka Vuskovic has already reached a full verbal agreement with Brighton following very positive talks with Fabian Hürzeler and the club’s hierarchy.
‘Several other clubs have already been turned down. Brighton have submitted a €35m offer to Tottenham post @David_Ornstein.
‘The deal remains complicated, but Brighton are pushing hard and continue to fight for the transfer. Other clubs are also planning to enter the race.’
Regarding Van Hecke, Football Insider are reporting that Spurs are ‘set to make a third offer’ for the Brighton star, though it will still fall shy of his reported £65m valuation.
The report claims:
‘Tottenham Hotspur are preparing a third offer worth £55million to sign Brighton star Jan Paul van Hecke after seeing two bids rejected.
‘Spurs have already seen offers worth £40million and £50million rebuffed by the Seagulls, but are growing increasingly confident they will get a deal over the line.’