Tottenham are looking to rebuild their defence with Premier League proven players this summer and Roberto De Zerbi is glancing at his old club
Tottenham are looking to give Roberto De Zerbi want he wants this summer and that means trying to sign Jan Paul van Hecke, who once claimed the Italian changed his life.
De Zerbi's stock could not be higher at Spurs after saving them from relegation, having arrived in the final weeks of the season and led them to 11 points from their final six matches. In doing so he saved the north London club around £250million in lost revenue that the drop down to the Championship would have brought and earned plenty of gratitude in the process.
That will spill into this transfer window with Tottenham keen to fix football matters on the pitch, with the owners and those running the club making it clear publicly that too much focus had been on off the pitch matters in recent years. The Lewis family, who own Spurs, have pledged further funds to push through the required changes this summer.
One of the areas of priority for De Zerbi is reinforcing a leaky defence that has conceded 183 goals in the Premier League in the past three seasons alone.
Barring any late disasters, free transfers for left-back Andy Robertson and left-sided centre-back Marcos Senesi are expected to be pushed through to be announced after the Premier League transfer window opens on June 15. Both players currently have contracts with Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively until the end of this month.
Now Tottenham are trying to push through a transfer for a right-sided centre-back and a player De Zerbi knows very well in Van Hecke before the Dutchman begins his full involvement in the World Cup this summer.
Van Hecke, who turns 26 this coming Monday, became a key player for De Zerbi in his final season at Brighton and when the Italian left the south coast club at the end of that campaign, the centre-back wrote on social media: "Gaffer thank you very much! You changed my life! I’m really thankful for what you did for me. I’m really upset you are leaving."
Now Spurs are trying to reunite the duo who would clash in their early days together as De Zerbi pushed for more from the Dutchman.
In their first season together, with Van Hecke mostly on the bench, De Zerbi once admitted: "We fight. We fought, but we fought in a good way." Whatever was said between the two worked and the following campaign, with the centre-back hitting new heights, the Italian concluded: "He is improving in an incredible way. He's actually older than his age. His level is high, higher than people think."
Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk added: "It's the biggest improvement I've ever seen in a player since this manager arrived and I love it. He will give you everything he's got, every single day."
Spurs are believed to have had a bid rejected by Brighton and will continue talks for the Netherlands international hopeful that the move will happen. The key to their success will be just how realistic the Seagulls' valuation is of a player who is approaching the final 12 months of his contract. The defender's former club NAC Breda are also entitled to a 7.5 per cent cut of any fee according to Dutch reports.
It's clear that Tottenham's transfer policy has switched in the main to Premier League-experienced players after mistakes in the market in previous seasons. Joao Palhinha and Conor Gallagher ended up becoming key players in keeping the club up under De Zerbi, while Robertson, Senesi and Van Hecke all have years in the English game under their belt. Another transfer target, Manchester City winger Savinho, arrived in the Premier League two years ago.
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Senesi and Van Hecke will suit De Zerbi's style with their comfort on the ball and ease at playing in a style that baits the press of the opposition team. They also importantly fit the club's renewed commitment, after the injury crises of recent years, to signing players robust enough to deal with the physical nature of De Zerbi's football. Neither centre-back has missed much game time in recent years through injury.
The question will be what does it mean for Tottenham's current crop of centre-backs. Micky van de Ven looks set to be a big part of De Zerbi's team after the head coach called the Dutchman the best left-sided centre-back in the Premier League. Van de Ven and Van Hecke played alongside each other in the Netherlands' 1-0 defeat to Algeria on Wednesday night, the former at left-back.
Van de Ven put his injury problems behind him last season, with 45 appearances and 18 of those as captain in the absence of Cristian Romero.
The left-footed Senesi will provide a strong battle to push on Van de Ven, but what of the right side of the defence if Van Hecke were to arrive?
Tottenham currently have Romero, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin and on-loan star in the making Luka Vuskovic, who can play on either the left or right of a central pairing, or in the centre of a three.
Romero's future looks increasingly like being spent away from the club next season once the World Cup is done, despite the Argentine only signing a new contract last summer. De Zerbi was unable to confirm whether the club captain would be sticking around beyond this summer and with Tottenham looking for maximum value for players who either do not want to be at the club or are not part of the plans, this could be the best summer to get what they expect for the 28-year-old.
Radu Dragusin is also expected to depart this summer, with clubs in Serie A looking to take the Romanian back to Italy, and a big decision must then be made on Vuskovic.
After a season in Hamburg, in which he was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season, the 19-year-old has a queue of Europe's biggest clubs looking to sign him. Spurs must decide whether to continue with the longer road for him, as Arsenal did with William Saliba's three loans after they beat their north London rivals to sign the Frenchman in 2019, or bring Vuskovic back now.
The young Croatian, who will play at the World Cup this summer, has been addressing the only current concern about his Premier League readiness - his acceleration and pace - by working with former decathlete Josko Vlasic this season.
Those in the game say Vuskovic has a far higher ceiling than Van Hecke, but the problem is ensuring the teenager, who has a contract until 2030, gets the minutes he requires for his continued rapid development in a season in which Spurs do not have European football and therefore far fewer games in the schedule.
De Zerbi admitted to football.london that Danso is still getting to grips with his quick passing style but made it clear that "he will be here next season" after praising the rest of the Austria international's qualities.
That means the move for Van Hecke, with Danso also around, appears to suggest that Vuskovic will get a second loan move since arriving at Tottenham, with two more for the teenager before that while technically still a Hajduk Split player.
There are also a list of other young centre-backs for De Zerbi to decide on their next steps, with with the on-loan Ashley Phillips, Kota Takai, Alfie Dorrington as well as academy products Jun'ai Byfield and Malachi Hardy developing.
One thing at least that can be taken from the move for Van Hecke and others is that Spurs are trying to act quickly and decisively in the transfer window for De Zerbi, especially amid a summer when the World Cup will soon slow down the merry-go-round for many clubs.