Tottenham confirm the signing of Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke. The Dutchman reunites with former coach Roberto de Zerbi.

“I will always give it my all and put my heart out on the field”

Tottenham have officially signed Brighton centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke for £52 million.

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The 26-year-old only had 12 months left on his contract at Amex, and the Seagulls chose to sell now rather than risk losing him for free in the summer. Van Hecke will be reunited with Spurs’ former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi – and he is very much looking forward to it.

The defense attorney stated:

“I already have a very strong bond with the manager and I’m looking forward to working with him again.

“Micky (van de Ven) has also told me a lot of good things about the club, so I’m really looking forward to getting started.

The deal is said to have no connection with Brighton’s pursuit of Tottenham centre-back Luka Vuskovic. The south coast club recently had a £30m bid rejected for the 19-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

Van Hecke, who is currently with the Netherlands national team at the World Cup, made 131 appearances for Brighton following his move from NAC Breda in 2020 and has established himself as one of the better centre-backs in the Premier League.

Spurs finished 17th in the top flight last season, but have already strengthened their defence heavily with Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson on free transfers.

Captain Cristian Romero is expected to leave the club during the summer.

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