Tottenham Sign Jan Paul van Hecke for Reported £52m

Overview

• The move was completed for a reported £52m, announced Saturday while Jan Paul van Hecke was with the Netherlands at the World Cup.
• Van Hecke said the transfer is a major step in his career, thanked coach Ronald Koeman for time to complete it, credited De Zerbi for his role, and stressed he remains focused on the World Cup.
• The fee activates payments to his earlier clubs, with Dutch side NAC Breda set to receive around £3.5m under a sell-on clause and youth club VV Goes also due compensation.
• Brighton had sought a higher valuation after Van Hecke’s World Cup call-up but agreed the deal with the player having about 12 months left on his Brighton contract; he made roughly 131 appearances for Brighton and 50 under De Zerbi.
• The signing is part of a summer defensive overhaul at Tottenham that already includes Andrew Robertson and Marcos Senesi and it strengthens De Zerbi’s options alongside Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.