Van Hecke vows to “leave his heart on the pitch” as £52m Dutch defender reunites with De Zerbi at Spurs | OneFootball

Jan Paul van Hecke has promised he will leave his 'heart out on the pitch' for Tottenham Hotspur after completing his transfer to the club.

Van Hecke has signed for Spurs from Brighton for a fee in the region of £52m and has signed a long-term contract in North London.

The Dutch defender reunites with former Brighton bossRoberto De Zerbi, and becomes the club's third signing of the summer, after Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi.

The 26-year-old will link up with Spurs after representing theNetherlands at the World Cup this summer and admits he can't wait to get started.

"I'm really looking forward to playing for Spurs because it's such a big club and it's a big honour that I can join them,"he said.

"I got a very good feeling from the directors, and of course also from the manager, who I knew from Brighton and had a good time with him, so my connection with the manager is really strong. Also from Johan (Lange) and the owners, I got a really good feeling.

"Micky (Van de Ven) also told me some really good things about the club and was happy when he heard I was going to join. He was honest with me and said it's such a big club, the fans are really nice and there are really good people in the club.

"So now I have a really good impression of how the club is, and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone.

"I think I’m a player who will always give everything and leave my heart out on the pitch.

"I try to win every game, I try to win every tackle, every duel. And I think on the ball it's also my strength that I can play nice passes between the lines, play forward and play behind the lines.

"I can be a defender who is good on the ball, but also who does really like defending, being aggressive and playing on the front foot.

"I'm excited to join the club and I'm already looking forward to playing my first game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. I've played there as a guy from the other team, but now I'm going to play there with the Tottenham Hotspur fans. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.”