EXCLUSIVE: It’s rare to hear a Premier League footballer speak with this much honesty, Brighton Defender“Jan Paul van Hecke” was forced into a move he didn’t want to make and he knew he wasn’t ready. HE’S WORTH £80 million but he’s ready to move on and knows exactly where he wants to go.

Exclusive: Chelsea and Liverpool also interested but Spurs hope De Zerbi link will prove decisive

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.

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.