Jan Paul van Hecke: Talented stopper who can finally break through in 2023/24

Jan Paul van Hecke is a name we should remember very well, as the Dutch stopper is improving day by day and could become one of Brighton’s important players next season.

The freshly 23-year-old defender, who is enjoying a duel with Erling Haaland, whom he played against at the end of last season and whom he didn’t let score a goal even at the cost of a yellow card, has been at Brighton since 2020. Back then, the English club bought him for €2 million from Dutch club NAC Breda.

However, he immediately went on loan to Heerenveen and then to Blackburn. He was one of the best players at both clubs and these good performances earned him a place in the A-team of Brighton, who kept him in the squad for the 2022/23 season.

Van Hecke didn’t play much though and if it wasn’t for Adam Webster’s dropout, he would probably stick to just a few dozen minutes for the whole league season. But the 189 cm tall stopper got his chance against Newcastle, who beat Brighton 4-1.

But the talented Dutchman was definitely one of the best players on the pitch for the visiting team. He also performed well in other matches and coach Roberto De Zerbi is obviously happy with having three good stoppers in the team to rotate.

The fourth is youngster Ed Turns. But there are also a number of other players in the team who will play very well in the centre of defence. Moreover, the question remains whether the club from the south of England will strengthen in this position.

Van Hecke, after all, only needs to play. And that’s what Brighton should provide if they want to see him improve, because he hasn’t been given many minutes last season. The Dutchman has plenty of talent.

The Arnemuiden native is very confident on the ball and has a good touch. But he often fouls, often to a yellow card. In this respect, however, we can count on him to improve in many ways as he becomes more acclimatised to the environment and the league.

This particular season could be the first one in which he is unlikely to move elsewhere. So you could say it will be a very important year to see if he is a top level player.

Source: Transfermarkt, Youtube, Brighton