Tottenham Hotspur have signed two players this summer transfer window in Andrew Robertson and Marcos Senesi, but they still want to bring more defensive talent into the fold, even with Luka Vuskovic's return from Hamburg being an enticing possibility.
Roberto De Zerbi and Spurs have zeroed in on Jan Paul van Hecke of Brighton as their top target of choice to finalize the defense. The 25 year old Dutchman worked well with De Zerbi in the past, and Tottenham see him as an ideal ball playing central defender with the proven Premier League experience and traits they want in their back line.
Brighton are driving a hard bargain, and Spurs are pushing the 50 million pound mark in talks for the Seagulls star center back. There are also other teams involved in the sweepstakes, as Van Hecke is one of the best Premier League center backs available, just as Senesi was as a free agent from Bournemouth.
Van Hecke might be in the bag for Tottenham
But just like Marcos Senesi, Tottenham Hotspur are in the lead for Jan Paul van Hecke. According to a report from Joost Blaauwhof of Voetbal International, the Brighton center back is totally sold on a move to Spurs. Van Hecke only wants to sign with Tottenham and nobody else, and he has even agreed to terms with Spurs personally. All he is waiting for is a final agreement on the price between Brighton and Tottenham.
Given what the Brighton CEO said to talkSPORT about other clubs being interested, it seems clear now that the Seagulls are trying to get leverage and extract every last cent from the Lilywhites, because the other supposedly interested clubs are not even in the picture at all if Van Hecke only wants Tottenham.
Van Hecke's desire for Spurs above all the others is a confidence boost that a team that barely survived relegation from the Premier League needs, but it is also another reenforcement point of the pull that Roberto De Zerbi has behind the scenes. It can't be a coincidence that Van Hecke is so interested in Spurs and had worked with De Zerbi before, and he played the best football of his career under the Italian manager; De Zerbi clearly had a big impact on him.
Now, the stage is set for Tottenham to sign the center back. All they need to do is agree to financial terms with the Seagulls and hope that their Premier League counterparts are willing to be reasonable at the negotiating table.
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