Jan Paul van Hecke has now opened up about his partnership with Micky van de Ven and how his Premier League experience can help Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur‘s new signing Jan Paul van Hecke has been growing into life as a Tottenham player.
The £52 million-rated defender was one of the first to come through the door this summer as Spurs looked to bolster their squad.
However, due to World Cup commitments, the centre-back was forced to miss a few pre-season games but has now been involved in the last two outings for Tottenham.
Tottenham defender Jan Paul van Hecke opens up on Micky van de Ven partnership
Van Hecke started the final pre-season game for Spurs while on tour and was again involved against Getafe.
The Dutchman looks set to be partnered by Micky van de Ven, who is now edging closer to a new deal, while Van de Ven’s usual partner, Cristian Romero, is working on securing a move away from Spurs.
Speaking to football.london, Van Hecke opened up on his relationship with Van de Ven and the conversations the pair had before the defender completed his move to Tottenham.
He said: “I’m really good friends with Micky. Even before the transfer was made, you speak always about football, you speak about your club.
“He’d already told me that it’s an amazing club. When I came here, I could see straight away from the first day that this is a really big club.”
Van Hecke also opened up about forming a centre‑back partnership with his countryman. He added: “That’s what we did in the U21s years ago, we played together as a couple [of centre-backs]. Now I hope to play as many games with him, and hopefully it can be a really good partnership.”
Jan Paul van Hecke can bring experience to Tottenham
Tottenham have placed a strong emphasis on bringing in players with experience, with the average age of their signings currently standing at 28.5 years.
That should help Spurs as they look to improve on last season’s 17th-place finish, and the experience of Van Hecke is something De Zerbi is hoping to rely on.
Speaking about what he can bring to the team leadership-wise, the Dutch centre-back continued: “We spoke about that [when I signed]. I’ve played four or five seasons here, so I know what the Premier League asks. It’s a really tough league, and there’s no easy game,” he said.
“I grew into that at Brighton. Of course I had leadership qualities, but not straight away from the first year, but in the last few years, if you play every game and you’re at a high level, you try to help your team-mates.
“So far so good. Obviously we’ve improved and we have a really strong team and a really good manager. That could be a really good combination this season.”