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Chelsea receive €81m defender boost as rival club have second bid rejected
Updated: 8 Jun 2026 05:28 BST |
4 min read
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Chelsea have received a boost in their pursuit of Jan Paul van Hecke after Brighton and Hove Albion CEO Paul Barber revealed the club have turned down a second bid from Tottenham Hotspur for the Netherlands star.
Van Hecke has developed a reputation as one of the Premier League’s finest ball-playing defenders, with the 26-year-old having a huge hand in Brighton qualifying for the UEFA Conference League by finish seventh last season.
With Van Hecke having just 12 months left on his contract with the Seagulls, there has been plenty of speculation surrounding his long-term future, with The Telegraph reporting that both Chelsea and Liverpool are interested in the €81m-rated (£70m) centre-back.
STATS
Jan Paul van Hecke
D (C)
Brighton
Jan Paul van Hecke
D (C)
Brighton
Another club who are keen admirers of Van Hecke are Tottenham, who The Athletic understand had an undisclosed bid turned down by Brighton last Thursday, though the player is believed to be keen on a reunion with Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi having worked with him at the Amex Stadium.
But Brighton chief Barber has revealed they have now turned down a second offer from Tottenham for Van Hecke, insisting he will not be sold unless the club receive a fee they deem suitable.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Barber said: “There's always going to be a lot of interest in our best players, and certainly in the case of Jan Paul. We've been very clear that that interest has been ongoing for a while, it's coming from multiple sources.
“Yes, we have rejected a bid from Tottenham over the last week or so, in fact, two bids. From that point of view, it has to be right for us as well as the player.
“We have to be in a position to make the best trades to suit our model and also to make sure that we're supporting Fabian [Hurzeler], because he's got another big season ahead of him.”
Van Hecke hoping to star for Netherlands at the World Cup
Van Hecke is currently with the Netherlands squad as they gear up for the World Cup this summer, with Ronald Koeman’s side facing Uzbekistan in their final warm-up friendly tomorrow before the tournament begins on Thursday, 11 June when co-hosts Mexico face South Africa.
Three-time runners-up Netherlands face Japan in their Group F opener on Sunday, 14 June before locking horns with Graham Potter’s Sweden on Saturday, 20 June and then Tunisia six days later.
Van Hecke joined Brighton from Dutch outfit NAC Breda in 2020 and has gone on to make 131 appearances for Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton, scoring four goals.
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