Tottenham Hotspur fans have already witnessed Roberto De Zerbi keeping their side afloat in the Premier League, admiring his fervour and the spark he brings to the dressing room. Yet the full expression of "De Zerbi ball" – the fluid, possession‑based style he is renowned for – has yet to be fully displayed.
This season, Spurs must be prepared to embrace the complete version of his football philosophy. The starting point, as always, is the defensive line, and the most logical conduit for translating De Zerbi's ideas from theory to practice is Jan Paul van Hecke. The 26‑year‑old Dutch centre‑back arrived from Brighton for a reported £52 million not merely because of his raw ability, but because he already understands the intricacies of De Zerbi’s tactical blueprint.
Why does that matter? De Zerbi’s brand of football, while elegant on the surface, can be surprisingly demanding even for seasoned professionals.
Lewis Dunk, the former defensive partner of Van Hecke at Brighton, openly admitted that the first few weeks under De Zerbi left him feeling completely disoriented. He told the club’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin that the squad had to "unlearn" much of what they thought they knew about the game.
Trubin echoed this sentiment to Sky Sports, describing how De Zerbi forced his teammates to adopt an entirely new way of playing. Even a veteran like James Milner, who has been coached by legends such as Terry Venables, Sir Bobby Robson, Manuel Pellegrini and Jürgen Klopp, found De Zerbi’s approach unlike anything he had experienced before. Milner explained to Sky Sports that De Zerbi helped him grasp "how a team plays and why it happens" in a way no previous manager had.
The Italian tactician demands that each player occupies a precise position at the right moment, and that the timing of every movement is meticulously calibrated. Milner reflected that the process of finding a "free man" – a player who can receive the ball in space – becomes almost subconscious after working with De Zerbi, deepening a player’s tactical awareness.
The pre‑season period has therefore been a whirlwind for De Zerbi’s recruits, especially those tasked with building attacks from the back. What appears to be effortless, free‑flowing football is actually the product of countless rehearsed patterns, drilled repeatedly in training sessions. The rules are strict.
Trubin recalled a moment when he executed a perfectly weighted pass, only to be shouted at by De Zerbi because it did not conform to the prescribed method. "He wants everyone to know their role, the exact way we need to play, and a single, unified idea for the team," Trubin said.
Timing is as crucial as the movement itself. As Dunk described, Brighton players were taught to anticipate every possible pressure scenario, to recognise where the opposition would close down, and to open passing lanes that could bypass that pressure.
This level of preparation is what makes Van Hecke such a valuable asset for Tottenham. With more than a hundred Premier League appearances already under his belt, he is not just a competent defender in his prime; he is a catalyst who can accelerate the implementation of De Zerbi’s system. Van Hecke’s bravery on the ball is one of his standout traits.
In the 2023‑24 Premier League campaign, he ranked second for the number of passes completed in open play and also second for accurate switches of play – a testament to both his volume and his range. His willingness to attempt progressive passes, whether threading the ball through the centre or swinging it wide, has earned De Zerbi’s admiration. The manager praised Van Hecke’s blend of confidence and humility, noting that the defender is never shy about attempting the difficult pass that can split an opponent’s defensive line.
"He is a strong, intelligent centre‑back who is brave in possession and plays with personality," De Zerbi said when announcing the signing. "Those are exactly the qualities I need for the way I want our team to operate." What makes Van Hecke truly unique, however, is his extraordinary ball‑carrying ability – a metric that sets him apart even from the league’s most prolific attackers. Statistically, Van Hecke is an outlier.
He recorded 597 ball carries in the Premier League last season, a figure that eclipses even midfield dynamos such as Declan Rice, Bernardo Silva and Jeremy Doku. When you filter those carries for instances where he was under pressure, Van Hecke still ranks near the top, only slightly behind Doku, who operates in a far more advanced position. The reason is simple: teams are generally more comfortable allowing a defender to advance the ball than a winger, yet Van Hecke exploits this freedom to a remarkable degree. His 315 pressured carries were 133 more than any other centre‑back in the competition, underlining his willingness to confront opponents head‑on rather than retreat.
Over the course of the season, Van Hecke covered an astonishing 10.66 kilometres with the ball at his feet – more than four kilometres farther than any other player and roughly double the distance logged by the only other English defenders who approached his numbers, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa. For Tottenham supporters, the impact will be evident on the pitch. Alongside the forward‑thinking passing of Marcos Senesi, Van Hecke’s ability to draw opponents out of shape creates space for the team to progress through the three thirds of the field with fluidity. In essence, De Zerbi’s vision of possession‑based, high‑pressing football is finally taking shape at Spurs, with Van Hecke acting as the pivotal link between defence and attack.
As the season unfolds, the true test will be whether Tottenham can sustain this style against the rigours of the Premier League. But with a defender who can carry the ball almost ten kilometres per campaign, who consistently makes accurate, progressive passes, and who possesses the tactical intelligence to execute De Zerbi’s precise movements, the club appears well‑equipped to translate philosophy into results. Fans can look forward to watching Tottenham’s back line not merely defend, but actively shape the game, ushering in a new era of "De Zerbi ball" at the north London stadium.