Jan Paul van Hecke delivered a masterclass in playmaking when Tottenham Hotspur locked horns with Crystal Palace. The Lilywhites’ £52m summer signing from Brighton, the 26-year-old centre-half, made an impressive impact on Saturday night and he even got his name on the scoresheet for good measure.
As soon as Jean-Philippe Mateta received his marching orders after a nasty challenge on Micky van de Ven, Van Hecke grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and put Pierre Sage’s side under siege. The Eagles retreated to the confines of the 18-yard box, shuffling left and then right, forcing Tottenham through the eye of the needle.
Spurs finally broke the deadlock before the half-hour mark when Archie Gray took a corner and headed the ball past Dean Henderson towards the front post. The former Seagulls defender doubled the lead in the second half with a header from the sitting inside the six-yard box after his initial effort was deflected onto the crossbar.
Van Hecke scored the knockout blow, but his masterclass in playmaking exhausted the Crystal Palace backline and produced shot after shot. With very little defense, the Dutch national lowered his guard and moved to the center of the ring.
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Van Hecke enjoyed a match-high 160 touches on Saturday night, completing 143 of 151 passes; Of those successful passes, 62 were converted into the final third. The Dutchman also managed to create three chances on his own.
His compatriot was equally impressive. In fact, Van de Ven was flawless, completing every 100 of 123 passes, including 53 in the final third. He also created three chances, while winning four aerial duels.
Together, they have become a pillar in Tottenham’s starting line-up and have played a key role in their upswing in performances this season. Van de Ven was already settled at Hotspur Way, but Van Hecke ran into the ground.
When Johan Lange sent the defender away from the Amex Stadium in June, De Zerbi was immediately tasked with helping him implement a new build-up strategy instead of keeping the ball out of the net.
Van Hecke had previously worked closely with the Italians on the south coast, where he first won plaudits in England for his ability to cut through a high-pressing opponent with disarming passes.
De Zerbi, who welcomed him to Spurs, boasted that he would revolutionize his team’s ability to play from the back. The Lilywhites boss said: “Jan Paul is someone I know very well from our time together at Brighton and I’m delighted to be working with him again.
“He is a strong, intelligent centre-back, brave in possession and plays with personality. These are important qualities that I want our team to build.
“Off the pitch he is mature, a leader and eager to learn and improve every day. Jan Paul has made great progress over the last few years and I believe he can improve even more here at Tottenham Hotspur.”
Having just climbed into the top half of the table despite some poor results in the early stages of the season, Van Hecke prides himself on being one of the leading progressive passing centre-backs in the Premier League.
With the Dutchman at the back, De Zerbi was finally able to transfer his thoughts onto the pitch and he began to reap the rewards of his labours…