Keeping Van Hecke was a serious boost for Brighton as Newcastle and Tottenham were both keen on the Dutch defender. He was excellent against Man City last Sunday.placeholder image
Keeping Van Hecke was a serious boost for Brighton as Newcastle and Tottenham were both keen on the Dutch defender. He was excellent against Man City last Sunday.
Tottenham enjoyed a successful transfer window but thoughts are already turning to signing defensive reinforcements when it opens again.
Tottenham ended the transfer window with something of a flourish, with hindsight maybe Daniel Levy wanted to leave a parting gift.
Tottenham consider move for Jan Paul van Hecke
One area where he will want to address in the next couple of windows is the defence and, according to TEAMtalk, the Brighton conveyor belt could be about to produce another big sale with Spurs one of three big spenders eyeing a move. Netherlands international Jan Paul van Hecke is in the last two years of his contract on the south coast and they are never ones to keep players too long or not sell at the right time.
Transfer journalist Dean Jones reported: “TEAMtalk is aware of the teams who have scouted him is Liverpool – they have viewed him as having the potential to step up into their set-up, and now have fresh considerations to make in defence after failing to sign Marc Guehi despite progress on deadline day.
“Tottenham also failed to sign an extra centre-back, despite having some plans to do so late into the summer window. They are continuing to consider Van Hecke, along with Newcastle United, who have a centre-back addition on their list of areas to address in the new year.”
Spurs’ secret weapon that made the difference for Simons
The Marc Guehi transfer saga has already taken another couple of twists with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid both said to be interested in taking the Crystal Palace skipper on a free transfer or pre-contract agreement. Spurs had bid for Guehi in January with the Eagles now counting the cost of not getting a replacement in earlier during the transfer window. The importance of securing Champions League football again will be evident when it comes to next summer’s recruitment.
What could sway Van Hecke in his decision making, should Spurs put in an offer, is the personal touch from Frank that was the deciding factor when Simons knocked back Chelsea’s advances as told to The Standard: “I always think the coaches are the most important people to base a decision on,” he said. “As a player, you see a coach more than your family. [Frank] told me a lot. Positive things, but also things I need to improve. It's fantastic how he sees football, how he wants to make players better.”
Spurs have the training ground and stadium to persuade players like Van Hecke, now, they also have the manager too who could be the difference when it comes to putting pen to paper.
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