'Daniel Levy's right, Tottenham had their pants pulled down in Jan Paul van Hecke deal'

Tottenham Hotspur have knowingly overpaid in their deal to sign Brighton's star defender Jan Paul van Hecke this summer.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that Spurs "can't take any chances" and require players that Roberto De Zerbi can trust.

Van Hecke was earmarked as a priority signing this summer, having worked with De Zerbi at the Amex Stadium, and a £52million deal has already been done just days into the summer window.

Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have been announced at Hotspur Way as well, but both were signed as free agents following the expiration of their contracts.

Although Van Hecke had just one year left on his deal with the Seagulls, Spurs splashed out for his signature, and Daniel Levy appears to have accidentally gotten involved.

Levy stepped down as chairman during the 2025-26 campaign, but even so, Ben Foster revealed live on talkSPORT that he messaged Simon Jordan to say that the Lilywhites had had their "pants pulled down" in the deal.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson responded to the claims, saying: "In a Daniel Levy approach to the world, yes, it's over the top. They've probably overpaid by £20m.

"But then you look at it the other way. They can't have a bad season this season, really. They have to do well this season. They just don't have a choice.

"They can't take any chances. So, for the sake of £20m, in the grand scheme of things, they probably think, 'Who cares? Of course we'd like to pay £20 less, but we can't. We want the player. We want him early'.

Ben Foster has said former #THFC chairman Daniel Levy messaged Simon Jordan to point out how supposedly Brighton have pulled Spurs’ pants down on a player that was out of contract next year…

I think it’s probably fair to say if Levy was still at the helm, he wouldn’t have… pic.twitter.com/c5mwrm3gwU

"They're going try and make sure they're not at the bottom of the league. But I don't think it makes Daniel Levy wrong. I think he's right.

"They've knowingly had their pants pulled down. It's not like Daniel Levy's telling them anything they didn't know."

What is certain is that Levy would have never spent that much money on a defender, especially not one with only a year remaining on his contract.

The Lewis family are obviously keen for the Lilywhites to experience the same struggles as they did in 2025-26, a season in which the club were nearly relegated from the Premier League.

Early business has already made that clear, and Tottenham have even entered the race to sign Newcastle United star Sandro Tonali.

That really would send a statement to the rest of the Premier League, that Spurs are serious ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, but there needs to be some space made in the current squad as well.