Chelsea are reportedly among three Premier League clubs keen on signing Brighton & Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke. As reported by Dutch media outlet VI, the Netherlands international looks set to leave the Amex Stadium in the summer.
Van Hecke has reportedly attracted interest from Chelsea, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the summer transfer window. His current deal at Brighton expires in the summer of 2027, and contract talks have reportedly halted.
At 25, Van Hecke has plenty of Premier League experience, having been a key player for Brighton in recent years. He joined the Seagulls in 2020 from NAC Breda and has grown from strength to strength at the club.
The Dutchman is blessed with a frame of 6 ft 2 in and is exceptional in the air and is also good with the ball at his feet. He has made 125 appearances for Brighton till date while earning ten caps for the Netherlands.
Chelsea could do with defensive reinforcements in the summer and van Hecke would highly likely be a guaranteed starter at Stamford Bridge. His age profile also makes him a perfect target for the Blues and he could also cost a modest fee with his contract expiring in 12 months.
Pundit blasts Chelsea for letting 25-year-old depart the club
Pundit Joe Cole has slammed his former club Chelsea for letting Marc Guehi leave the club, who has become one of the best defenders in the Premier League. Guehi left the Blues to join Crystal Palace in 2021 and moved to Manchester City in January 2026.
Following his impressive stint at Crystal Palace, he has proved to be a brilliant addition to Pep Guardiola's side in mid-season. He has so far made 13 appearances for the Sky Blues and has scored twice while impressing at the back.
Joe Cole has hit out at Chelsea for not giving Guehi the chance he deserved and insisted that he should have been a key building block of the team. He said:
"For me, the big moment in the game from a Chelsea perspective, and from a Manchester City perspective, was when Marc Guehi scored the goal. It was a great finish but I look at where Chelsea are as a club, desperately trying to find a centre-half, spending hundreds of millions of pounds… you had a kid [Guehi] in the building."
He added:
"I’m looking at him and I’m thinking: how has this kid got a Manchester City shirt on? The team should have been built around him five years ago. Whoever has let him out the door at Chelsea… if I’m the owner, I’m going, 'Right, who’s decision, or what collective of people’s decision, was it to think it was a good idea to let this kid leave the club?'."
Cole concluded:
"Everyone would go, 'It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me!'… unless you find out who is making these decisions, these decisions will continue to happen and you’ll keep losing players like that. You need to do an appraisal on it."
Guehi came through Chelsea's youth ranks but only managed to make two senior appearances for his boyhood club. Despite impressing for Swansea City on loan, he was sold to Crystal Palace in July 2021.