Jan Paul van Heck on his £52m move to Tottenham

Jan Paul van Heck has commented for the first time on his £52 million move to Tottenham from Brighton. Van Heck will play for Tottenham after his former coach Roberto De Zerbi took charge of the club and guided them into the Premier League on the final day of the season. De Zerbi previously worked with Van Heck at Brighton and made the 26-year-old defender his priority as he had a year remaining on his contract after six years on the south coast.

Van Heck is currently at the World Cup, where the Netherlands will face Sweden in Houston on Saturday. Answering questions about the days leading up to the transfer, Van Heck said: “Lots of calls, and of course I was not involved in all this time. This is important to me, and head coach Ronald Koeman gave me time for this transfer. I am grateful for this as it is a big step forward in my professional career.

“I'm proud to have played for Brighton, it's boosted my confidence, but now I'll be playing for one of the most important clubs in England. It's important for my future, but right now I'm focused on the World Cup."

NAC Breda, where Van Heck started his career, will receive around £3.5 million from the transfer thanks to a future sales agreement that was struck when the defender was sold to Brighton in 2020. His youth club VV Goes will also benefit from the deal. “It’s great for these two teams I played on. I did my youth training in the province of Zealand with VV Goes, I played there for six years. It was wonderful. Goes will also receive money from this transfer. These clubs will be happy and they deserve it,” Van Heck added.

Van Heck's uncle, Jan Poortvliet, who played for the Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup final, commented: "I think De Zerbi played a big role in this decision. Several clubs showed interest, but De Zerbi was confident and absolutely wanted him. Jan Paul was definitely at the top of the list. He knows De Zerbi's style of play well and has had a fantastic season under his leadership."

Tottenham also signed Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson and Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi on free transfers.

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