Senesi & Van Hecke will love him: Spurs in ongoing talks to sign £26m star

The transfer window hasn’t even opened yet but Roberto De Zerbi is making big moves in an attempt to strengthen the Tottenham Hotspur ranks.

He promised at the conclusion of the season that no holidays would be taken and lo and behold, him and the transfer team have already been very busy.

In the last few days, Spurs have confirmed the arrivals of both Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson from Bournemouth and Liverpool respectively.

Signed on free transfers at the conclusion of their contracts, they represent two bargain additions that will no doubt raise the floor of this squad.

With Robertson and Senesi in tow, surely they won’t fall as low as 17th again? The chances of that would be slim if they complete a few more deals.

Spurs in ongoing talks over two more transfers

With Senesi and Robertson done, Spurs are pressing ahead for more with the next big transfer potentially being Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Lilywhites lodged a bid for the centre-back a few days ago but saw it rebuffed with the Seagulls hoping to get £70m for the defender. It must be said that feels extremely unlikely at this stage.

That being said, according to reports, personal terms are said to be no problem between Van Hecke and Spurs as they work on sealing their first major addition of the summer window.

Those behind the scenes are also working on the re-signing of Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich. The Portuguese spent 2025/26 on loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs had an option to buy the player for £26m at the end of his loan.

That loan has now concluded and he’s a Bayern player again but come July, he could be back at Spurs. Sky Sports report Florian Plettenburg reported this weekend that Palhinha wants to make a decision on his future “soon.”

Talks over his future are said to be “ongoing” with it revealed that the Londoners have a “good chance” of bringing him back to the Premier League in the coming weeks.

The hold up in the move currently revolves around payment terms. Spurs want to pay less than the £26m fee that was initially negotiated last summer.

Why Palhinha would be a dream for Senesi and Van Hecke

Make no mistake about it, Spurs need significant improvements to their backline, particularly if club captain Cristian Romero is to leave the English capital behind.

In recent years, Tottenham have been nothing shy of embarrasing as the back. In 2025/26, only the three relegated teams conceded more than their 57 goals in the Premier League.

As a result, the additions of Senesi and Van Hecke, two proven players in England would help with that significantly. While both are aggressive front footed defenders, they’d also offer plenty in the build up.

For context, the former is remarkbly good when it comes to passing out from the back, ranking among the best 1% of centre-backs in Europe for progressive passing. Van Hecke, meanwhile, ranks among the finest 1% of defenders on the continent for progressive carries.

All that said, it’s crucial that Spurs also address their midfield issues and in Palhinha, they could hand Senesi and Van Hecke, should both arrive, one of the finest defensive midfielders around to protect them.

The Portugal international has already been woven into club forklore for being the man who scored the goal to keep them in the Premier League and while he did crash the box well at times in 2025/26, that is not his primary duty.

No, this is a player who usually sits in front of the defence and he does a mighty fine job of it too.

This season, no player made more tackles (4.51) per 90 minutes than Palhinha in the entire Spurs squad. In fact, no player in England’s top-flight could better the midfielder’s number of tackles per 90. To add to that, he won 6.43 ground duels per 90, again the most of any player in the side.

That is a nod to just how much defensive work the team got through under Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and De Zerbi but it’s also recognition of just how strong defensively Palhinha is.

To have a player like him in front of Van Hecke and Senesi would be a dream. We know how progressive they are and should they galivant up the pitch, they would be reassured that the Portuguese star could drop back and help out defensively.