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Story byPaul van Hecke has one year left on his contract - John Sibley/ReutersSam WallaceThu, June 4, 2026 at 6:33 AM UTC·

Tottenham Hotspur have fired the starting gun in the race to sign Jan Paul van Hecke, the £70m-rated Brighton and Hove Albion defender, but have had their initial bid rejected.

The Dutch international, who turns 26 on Monday, is very much in demand with Chelsea and Liverpool also interested – but Spurs are hoping that the chance to work again with manager Roberto De Zerbi will prove decisive. It is not clear at what level Spurs made their initial offer for the centre-back.

Van Hecke and De Zerbi struck a up a strong relationship at Brighton, although it took the defender more than one season to convince the Italian he was ready for a place in the team. He became a regular in De Zerbi’s last season, 2023-24, when the team played in the Europa League. Since then, Van Hecke has played in all but six Premier League games in the following two seasons under Fabian Hürzeler.

Van Hecke has a strong relationship with Roberto De Zerbi, who is in charge of Spurs - Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images

With one year left on his deal, Van Hecke is a natural candidate for sale this summer for Brighton. No new contract has been agreed with the player and, as a trading club, Brighton would need to realise full value for the player. Tony Bloom, the Brighton chairman, has secured excellent deals for his best players over the years, including the three most lucrative sales, which were all to Chelsea: Moisés Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and João Pedro.

Spurs paid Brighton about £25m for Yves Bissouma four years ago. The Premier League club, who finished 17th this season, are trying to rebuild swiftly with a deal for free agent Marcos Senesi, the Argentine who was part of Bournemouth’s squad. Van Hecke is part of the Netherlands World Cup squad – one that has a high concentration of excellent defenders. He has won ten caps so far.

Van Hecke is preparing for the World Cup with the Netherlands - Marcel Bonte/Getty Images

Van Hecke is the most recent recruitment success for Brighton, signed in September 2020 for about £1.8m from NAC Breda, in the second tier of Dutch football, after just 11 first-team appearances. It took him three seasons and two loans away from Brighton before he established himself in the first team, where he has become one of the most sought-after Premier League defenders.

Van Hecke was joint-sixth in the Premier League for interceptions last season; seventh for duels won and ninth for minutes played. His 36 starts for Brighton in the Premier League were more than any other outfield player in the squad.

Brighton, meanwhile, have announced the departure of sporting director Jason Ayto, with technical director Mike Cave to take charge of the summer window trading alongside chief executive Paul Barber.

Spurs declined to comment.

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