Jan Paul van Hecke: “I felt so welcomed by the fans straight away”

The talented Netherlands international defender sealed his move to north London from Premier League rivals Brighton & Hove Albion while he was away representing his country at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

After a short break in the wake of his team’s elimination from the tournament, the centre-half reported in at Hotspur Way recently before jetting off with his new team-mates for our pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia.

Amidst a summer of change and a chance to reunite with his former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, ‘JP’ revealed the role our Head Coach – and also, crucially, our fans – played in making him feel settled in Lilywhite.

“I’m really happy that I’m here, but also in the summer knowing that it was finally done, so I was really excited to see everybody,” he said in his first interview with SPURSPLAY.

“It was a bit different to normal because we had the World Cup and the transfer happened in the middle of the World Cup so I needed to focus on that and the games, which gave me a lot of self-confidence. We had the break after – normally you go straight to the club and meet everybody but I had to wait a bit – but it’s all good now and I’m really happy that I’m here.

“It’s always exciting to see your team-mates, to see my old manager, to see the staff. Everyone was really friendly and helping me, so that made it easier. I got so many messages from everybody – a lot of fans were really happy that I signed for their club. I felt so welcomed by the fans straight away and I felt like they’re really happy to see me here. Hopefully they also can’t wait to get the season started!”

Speaking about his playing style and what he hopes to bring to our team, the 26-year-old continued: “I’m really looking forward to playing and I’m really proud to be here. Of course, every professional player works really hard, otherwise he’s not here. It’s the same for me, I worked really hard to be in this spot, so that’s also why I can’t wait to play my games.

“First of all I’m a defender, so I need to be good at defending. The biggest part I think is to defend my box, to defend forward, be aggressive and then on the ball I think I can play well between the lines, well from the back and I think that’s a good asset to have. But first of all, it begins with desire and I think that’s the most important thing. Of course, I’m also Dutch and we’re used to playing out from the back, playing attractive football and I think that’s what Spurs want to play, and also this manager. So it’s attacking football, play between the lines but also in defence, be really aggressive, play forward and try to defend forward. I think I can do all that and that’s a good combination.”