Tottenham have signed Brighton centre-half Jan Paul van Hecke for £52million.
The 26-year-old had just 12 months left on his contract at the Amex and the Seagulls have opted to cash in now rather than risk losing him for nothing next summer.
Van Hecke will reunite with Spurs’ former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi.
The defender said: “I already have a really strong connection with the manager, who I’m looking forward to working with again.
“Micky (van de Ven) has also told me some great things about the club, so I can’t wait to get started.”
The deal is not linked to Brighton’s pursuit of Tottenham centre-half Luka Vuskovic, with the south coast club seeing a £30m offer rejected for the 19-year-old who spent last season on loan at Bundesliga side Hamburg.
Van Hecke, who is currently with the Netherlands squad at the World Cup, made 131 appearances for Brighton after joining from NC Breda in 2020 and established himself as one of the better central defenders in the Premier League.
Spurs finished 17th in the top flight last season but have already made moves to bolster their defence, signing Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson on free transfers.
It is expected captain Cristian Romero will leave the club this summer.
