Tottenham Hotspur have endured a tough start to the Premier League campaign. Having enjoyed a potential season-defining transfer window, the north London side find themselves bottom of the table. They’ve picked up just two points from the opening five games under Roberto De Zerbi.
There have been moments where fine margins determined the result. A Lewis Hall clearance off the line to deny Pedro Porro in the eventual 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United. A point-blank Zion Suzuki save to push a Savio effort away in a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa last time out. Both incidents came when the scores were level.
How the complexion of the game would have changed had both moments gone in Spurs’ favour.
Whether the international break came at a bad or a good time remains to be seen. The issue, though, is the risk that comes with players jetting off around the world to represent their respective nation. International recognition is always welcomed, but in an extended domestic hiatus where some players could be playing up to four matches only adds to the risk that comes with impressing at club level.
Possible blow for Spurs?
Unfortunately for Spurs, Jan Paul van Hecke is one of those who looks to have suffered as a result. The centre-back, who swapped Brighton for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the summer, left the Netherlands camp earlier this week having partnered Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence in the 1-1 draw with Germany and the 2-1 win over Serbia in the UEFA Nations League.
“He took a knock against Serbia,” Oranje boss Xavi said of Van Hecke. “He is a fighter, and he did try to keep going over the past few days. In training, it became clear that the pain is too severe. That is a shame.”
It’s a blow for his country. Spurs are hoping it’s minor ahead of next week’s return to league duties. Because while Spurs have thoroughly underperformed in the opening weeks of the season, Van Hecke has been arguably one of their better players.
Now, that’s not to say the 26-year-old hasn’t endured his moments of madness. Every player under the watchful eye of De Zerbi has underwhelmed at one time or another, and Van Hecke is no exception.
Saying that, he is imperative to the way that Spurs play under De Zerbi. They dominate because of Van Hecke. Indeed, De Zerbi’s side rank third for possession (60.7%) in the Premier League this season. Van Hecke's 390 passes is the fifth most in England’s top tier this term.
The deep-lying playmaker
Only Marc Guehi (94.3%) has a better pass accuracy than Van Hecke (93.8%) of those to have started every match in the 2026/27 Premier League campaign. What’s more, the Dutch defender places fifth for forward passes (124) of all outfield players. Only two players have created more chances than the former Brighton & Hove Albion man (5) for Spurs.
Van Hecke is absolutely imperative to the way that Spurs play out from the back. He’s ultimately the man to get the ball rolling for the 2025 Europa League winners. That’s not to say there aren’t shortcomings to his game. Van Hecke isn’t a defensive defender so to speak, Xavi Simons’ goal against Brighton at the end of last season a case in point.
He doesn’t have the physical capabilities to act as an enforcer in the same vein as, say, Radu Dragusin or Kevin Danso, two centre-backs who left Spurs for Fiorentina and Sunderland, respectively, over the summer. Some will use this as a stick with which to beat Van Hecke, but the pros far outweigh the cons. For the style of play that De Zerbi wants to implement, he is key.
Van Hecke has been a distribution machine for Spurs
Fortunately for the north London outfit, they do have cover at the back should Van Hecke be forced into a spell on the sidelines.
Marcos Senesi joined from Bournemouth on free earlier in the year, and the Argentine brings that same level of distribution and forward thrust from defence. Even so, Van Hecke’s potential absence may hurt the club. He’s a player who came into the spotlight under De Zerbi when the two were together at the AMEX.
No matter what some Spurs supporters may say, losing Van Hecke for a prolonged period of time will hurt the team. As the club seek to establish an all-Dutch defensive centre-back partnership, De Zerbi will hope to have the Netherlands duo available for next weekend’s trip to Manchester United as Spurs seek to claim their first league win of the season.
And having Van Hecke available for selection will boost their chances of securing a huge three points.