Former Sunderland target Jan Paul van Hecke is set for a new contract at Brighton.
The Athletic have reported that the Dutchman will put pen to paper on a new deal, despite making only three starts in the Premier League last season.
Van Hecke spent the 2021-22 campaign on loan with Blackburn Rovers and was named their Player of the Season, leading to various reports claiming Sunderland were in contention to bring him back to the Championship on loan once again.
However, the 23-year-old opted to stay at Brighton and has now agreed a one-year extension on his contract, that was set to expire this month.
Van Hecke struggled to make an impact on the Seagulls last season as he failed to climb ahead of Levi Colwill or Lewis Dunk in the pecking order. However, Roberto De Zerbi clearly has him in his plans for the near future.
Former Sunderland goalkeeper Jason Steele previously heaped praise on his teammate as he returned from his loan spell at Ewood Park.
The 32-year-old said: “JP and Levi [Colwill] are a bit more experienced at a higher level but they applied themselves fantastically and you could see they are very good players.”
Sunderland won’t feel like they have missed out on Jan Paul van Hecke
Sunderland arguably could have done with more depth in defence last season, but that was only because their entire backline decided to find their way to the sidelines.
In terms of the future, the Black Cats certainly won’t feel like they have missed out on the Brighton man.
While Tony Mowbray would have undoubtedly turned him into a sensation, the club already have two hugely talented youth stars in Daniel Ballard and Aji Alese that they also signed last summer.
There is no way to know how Van Hecke would have compared, but fans won’t be looking backwards after their defence’s success last time out.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
