Tottenham agree £52m deal for Brighton's Van Hecke as De Zerbi rebuilds battered defence

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a £52 million deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke, the Press Association understands. The 25-year-old Dutch international becomes Spurs’ third defensive addition of the summer, following the arrivals of left-back Andy Robertson and centre-back Marcos Senesi on free transfers.

The agreement comes after two earlier bids were rejected by Brighton. Van Hecke, who had been entering the final year of his contract, will move to north London on a fixed £52m fee — a significant outlay for a club that only narrowly avoided Premier League relegation on the final day of the 2025-26 season.

Manager Roberto De Zerbi has a well-established relationship with Van Hecke, having worked with him during his time at Brighton. It was under De Zerbi in the 2023-24 season that the ball-playing defender truly came into his own, making 40 appearances and playing a central role in Brighton’s qualification for European football for only the second time in their history.

The urgency behind the rebuild is hard to overstate. Tottenham have conceded 122 goals across the last two Premier League campaigns, finishing 17th in consecutive seasons. The club’s majority owners, the Lewis family, have pledged to be “all in” in funding the overhaul, and De Zerbi has been equally direct about the scale of change required.

Van Hecke will link up with fellow Netherlands international Micky van de Ven at Spurs, giving De Zerbi a familiar defensive partnership to build around.

Brighton, meanwhile, are expected to step up their pursuit of Spurs centre-back Luka Vuskovic as a potential replacement, though two bids have already been turned down by Tottenham this month, according to the Press Association.