Tottenham target Jan Paul Van Hecke is not only highly rated by Roberto De Zerbi but is also held in very high regard by his Brighton teammates.Many Spurs fans would have been shocked and pleasantly surprised to wake up to the news on Thursday that Tottenham had a bid turned down by Brighton for Van Hecke.The two clubs are now reportedly trying to settle on an agreement for the centre-back, who is reportedly keen on reuniting with Roberto De Zerbi at Spurs.De Zerbi waxed lyrical about Van Hecke’s qualities as a player, while a couple of the 25-year-old’s teammates have also shed light on his personality.Photo by ANP via Getty ImagesWhat Lewis Dunk said about Van Hecke’s improvement under Tottenham boss Roberto De ZerbiLewis Dunk, who often partnered the Dutchman in the heart of the Seagulls defence, was blown away by how much the 25-year-old improved under De Zerbi.The Brighton captain also spoke highly of the Netherlands international’s attitude, confessing that he leaves everything on the pitch.Dunk said about Van Hecke back in 2024 (via Football.London): “Jan Paul’s reaction to the own goal sums him up as a person. He will give you everything he’s got. His is the biggest improvement I have seen in a player since the manager arrived. I love it. It was a great assist after the own goal, and I was buzzing for him.”Bart Verbruggen names Van Hecke’s best qualitiesBart Verbruggen perhaps knows more about the Tottenham Hotspur target than anyone else, having played with him at NAC Breda before reuniting with him at Brighton.The Seagulls number one suggested that Van Hecke’s consistency at the highest level is his best quality, while also talking very highly of the centre-back’s influence in the dressing room.Verbruggen previously said about his compatriot: “I wasn’t shocked by Jan Paul getting the move to Brighton. He went on loan straight after – I think it’s one of the pathways you see more often now as well as here at Brighton, signing for a big team and then going out on loan. I’ve always been a fan of him as a player and as a person. I wasn’t surprised when he left, I could understand what a big team would see in him.“If you see how his career worked out, I think all credit to him. He has taken the right steps at the right time and always had the right attitude and the right mentality. If you have those things, then the quality will take care of itself, but I think he maybe even surprised some people with how well he is doing now.“It’s the same for JP – obviously when he was playing, everybody could see his quality, but I think to see how good he is now, maybe some people wouldn’t have expected it at the time because they didn’t really see him as someone destined for the top.“It’s really hard in any sport to be as consistent as he is. That’s one of his big qualities, but it could also be his ability on the ball, his quality in defence, his mental strength. There’s so many qualities about him that the national team coach would love about him. But the competition is high and the fact that he’s playing is a very, very big compliment to him.“I think everybody can see how good of a player JP is, but what people maybe don’t always see because they don’t know him is how good a person he is. He really helped me a lot when I joined, in terms of showing me the way around Brighton, even teaching me about the culture at the training ground.”READ MORE: Tottenham fans all say the same thing about Jan Paul van Hecke valuation as Spurs have bid rejectedThe post Tottenham fans will love what Lewis Dunk and Verbruggen have said bout Jan Paul Van Hecke appeared first on Spurs Web.