Tottenham Hotspur have been looking to wrap up a deal for Brighton & Hove Albion and Netherlands defender Jan Paul van Hecke as they seek to strengthen their defence
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly agreed a £52million deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke. Spurs are trying to reunite head coach Roberto De Zerbi with his former Brighton centre-back and have had several bids rejected by the Seagulls.
The South Coast club value Van Hecke at around £70million, despite him having only 12 months left on his contract. But The Athletic now claim that a compromise has been reached with Brighton.
It is said that personal terms are not expected to be an issue for the Netherlands international who is representing his country at this summer’s World Cup. It is also claimed that Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic, for whom Brighton have had a £35m offer rejected, is not part of any move.
Van Hecke spoke about his future ahead of the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Japan on Sunday. The former NAC Breda, Heerenveen and Blackburn Rovers star is hoping to avoid any distractions while he competes in North America.
He said “First of all, I just want to focus on the Dutch national team on Sunday.
“That is a very important match for us, for me. So that’s my focus until now. Of course, things are also playing, and I know that myself too. But that’s not for now, that’s more after the World Cup. I will then see where I play.
“I have also said very clearly that I would like to have clarity for myself before the World Cup. And I have that too. But then for now for myself it’s just clear. I just want to play the World Cup as well as possible. That clarity will probably come after the World Cup when I make that step, then it’s clear to everyone.”
The 26-year-old has been at Brighton since 2020 and played a key role in their qualification for Europe last season. Van Hecke started 36 of Brighton’s 38 Premier League matches in the 2025-26 season as they qualified for the Conference League by finishing eighth.
The deal comes amid Tottenham’s reported interest in Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.
Spurs have held positive talks with the Italy international’s entourage ahead of making any potential bid to Newcastle although they are likely to face rivals for Tonali’s signature with Arsenal among those having shown interest in the 26-year-old.
The Magpies are expected to slap a price tag of around £100m on Tonali, as the midfielder has three years left on his contract and a club option to extend it by another 12 months.
It will not be an easy transfer to get near the finish line, let alone over it, but former Tottenham, Manchester United and England striker Teddy Sheringham believes that Tonali is the calibre of player his old club must target.
The 60-year-old said: “About three years ago I said that Manchester United needed to go and sign Harry Kane and Declan Rice as soon as they were available. United didn’t get either of them. Tottenham are in that situation now.
“You have to go and get the big players now to lead by example, players that come into a club and set the standard, like what Harry has done at Bayern Munich and Declan has done at Arsenal.
“You need players who will put the shirt on and fill it out like Eric Cantona did when he went to United. Players who look like they deserve to be there. ‘Follow me, boys!’
