Jan Paul van Hecke (born 8 June 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defender for Brighton & Hove Albion of the Premier League and the Netherlands under-21 national team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jan Paul van Hecke[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2000-06-08) 8 June 2000 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Arnemuiden, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Brighton & Hove Albion | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2018 | VV Goes | ||
| 2018–2019 | NAC Breda | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | NAC Breda | 11 | (3) |
| 2020– | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Heerenveen (loan) | 28 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2022– | Netherlands U21 | 1 | (0) |
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:48, 27 August 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:03, 6 June 2022 (UTC) | |||
Born in Arnemuiden,[2] Van Hecke is a youth product of VV Goes, but signed for NAC Breda in 2018.[3] He made his professional debut with NAC Breda in a 5–1 Eerste Divisie win over Helmond Sport on 16 August 2019.[4]
On 10 September 2020, van Hecke joined Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on a three-year contract.[3][5]
On 18 September 2020, he returned to the Netherlands on a season-long loan with Eredivisie side Heerenveen.[6][7] He made his debut for Heeerenveen in a 3–1 Eredivisie win away to Fortuna Sittard on 19 September 2020.[8]
On 29 August 2021, he joined Blackburn Rovers of the Championship on loan for the 2021–22 season.[9] He made his debut on 16 October, playing the whole match of the 2–2 home draw against Coventry City.[10] He was sent off for a reckless challenge on Harry Wilson on his fifth appearance with Rovers already 2–0 down in an eventual 7–0 thumping at home to Fulham on 3 November.[11] Van Hecke scored his first goal for Blackburn and in English football, doubling Rovers lead with a powerful header in the 2–0 away win at second placed Bournemouth on 11 December, closing the gap to four points to their promotion rivals.[12] He was named as the club's Player of the Season for 2021–22, becoming the first loanee to achieve the accolade.[13]
Van Hecke made his debut for the Seagulls on 24 August 2022, helping keep a clean sheet in the 3–0 away victory over League One side Forest Green Rovers in the EFL Cup second round.[14] Three days later, he made his Premier League debut, coming on as a 88th minute substitute for Danny Welbeck and helped secure Brighton's 1–0 lead over Leeds to take all three points at Falmer Stadium.[15]
Van Hecke was called up to the Netherlands under-21 squad for the first time in March 2022,[16] but was an unused substitute in a 0–0 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying draw against Bulgaria.[17] He made his debut for the under-21 side on 3 June, coming on as a substitute in the 3–0 away win over Moldova under-21's in a 2023 European under-21 Championship qualifier.[18]
Van Hecke is the nephew of the Dutch retired footballer Jan Poortvliet.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| NAC Breda | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 16 | 4 | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2020–21 | Premier League | — | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | — | ||||||||||
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| SC Heerenveen (loan) | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2021–22 | Championship | 31 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 71 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 6 | ||
Individual
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. – current squad | |
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Blackburn Rovers F.C. Player of the Year | |
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