Tottenham Hotspur have assembled a new backline this season under Roberto De Zerbi, but it’s been the same old problems afflicting the Lilywhites.
The north London side have already shipped eight goals in just five Premier League games so far, having also conceded three away at Anfield in the Carabao Cup.
It’s not been a smooth start to the campaign in that department, with a potential injury to Jan Paul van Hecke only set to heighten the focus on the pool of defenders who Spurs have let go of late.
Why did Van Hecke withdraw from the Netherlands squad?
The international break, and the halt to club action, is often a dreaded period for supporters, but so too for managers.
De Zerbi and co will be sat nervously, counting down the days until their key men return, crossing their fingers in the hope of avoiding any serious injury setbacks.
It’s not yet known quite how serious this issue is, yet the news of Van Hecke’s withdrawal from the Netherlands squad will have provided an unwanted headache for the Italian coach.
The 26-year-old sustained a foot injury in the Nations League clash with Serbia, and despite playing the full 90 minutes in that 2-1 win for Holland, he was subsequently unable to feature in training.
Dutch head coach, Xavi Hernandez, confirmed that the centre-back was in too much pain to continue in his side’s light recovery, having since pulled out of the squad altogether to return to north London.
It’s a situation De Zerbi could well have done without, and one that will bring the exit of the likes of Luka Vuskovic into even sharper focus.
Why Spurs were wrong to trade Vuskovic for Van Hecke
With Cristian Romero’s departure long in the pipeline, it appeared that Spurs already had a prime replacement in the building, having snapped up Vuskovic as early as 2023.
The Croatian had officially arrived in the summer of 2025, before signing for Hamburg on loan, subsequently enjoying a stellar Bundesliga season in which he scored six times from centre-back.
At just 19, the 6 foot 4 sensation appears to have everything in place to be one of the game’s leading figures in his position across the next decade or so, having courted interest from a raft of elite clubs over the summer.
Having not been promised regular game time under De Zerbi, Vuskovic ultimately decided to fly the nest to join Brighton for a fee pushing £50m, with Van Hecke heading in the opposite direction on a £52m deal.
It’s early days, yet that decision already looks like a bizarre one, the teenager part of a Seagulls side that currently sits in the top four, having also turfed Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup.
|
Van Hecke vs Vuskovic – 26/27 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Van Hecke |
Stat (*per game) |
Vuskovic |
|
5 |
Games |
5 |
|
1 |
Goals |
1 |
|
0 |
Assists |
0 |
|
94% |
Pass accuracy* |
91% |
|
6.4 |
Ball lost* |
8.4 |
|
52% |
Total duels won* |
57% |
|
46% |
Aerial duels won* |
59% |
|
0.6 |
Dribbled past* |
0.4 |
|
2 |
Clean sheets |
2 |
Van Hecke, meanwhile, was part of the Spurs side that wilted against Brentford, while he was particularly hapless up against Nicolas Jackson last time out, an outing that will certainly not quiet the talk around Vuskovic.
At least Spurs did rake in a sizeable fee for the Croatian, with that not true of everyone.
Why Spurs sold Van Dijk-esque centre-back
The backline, as already noted, has undergone remarkable change of late at N17, De Zerbi having brought in Van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Tosin Adarabioyo at centre-back alone.
Out went Romero, Vuskovic and Kevin Danso, the latter joining Sunderland on loan for the season, while Radu Dragusin was also shipped off to Fiorentina on an initial temporary basis.
Plenty of departures, then, although one that perhaps went under the radar was the sale of 21-year-old talent, Ashley Phillips, the former Blackburn Rovers starlet joining Middlesbrough on an initial £7m deal.
Linking up with fellow ex-Spurs man, Will Lankshear, Phillips has started three of Boro’s last four Championship games, having entered the fray at half-time in the 4-3 thriller against Norwich City.
Again, it is early days for the youngster, but he has made an impression already, scoring once across his five total outings, while winning 73% of his total duels and 76% of his aerial duels. Van Hecke, by contrast, has averaged just 52% and 46% for those same two metrics, respectively, albeit while operating at a level above.
Across the whole of last season too, while on loan at Stoke City for the second time, Phillips played 40 games in the second tier, boasting a 62% and 67% average across those two metrics.
Standing at 6 foot 5, it’s easy to see why talent scout Jacek Kulig has even likened him to Virgil van Dijk in the recent past, while writer and Stoke fan Neil James even noted last season that he’d been in “full Van Dijk-mode” in a clash with Wrexham.
At a time when Spurs continue to ship goals for fun, it does beg the question as to why the club didn’t hand Phillips a route to game time at first-team level, not least after a fruitful spell in the Championship.
Having arrived from Blackburn in 2023, like Vuskovic he never actually made a competitive senior appearance for the Lilywhites, spending much of his time out on loan instead.
Regardless of whether Van Hecke’s injury is serious or not, the decision to sell Phillips on the cheap will continue to bite if De Zerbi’s defensive woes continue.