The prospect of Jan Paul van Hecke leaving Brighton this summer has loomed large for some time – but as it becomes more real, attention turns to how Brighton will replace their star centre back.
Van Hecke is out of contract in summer 2027. We know the Albion have made several attempts to get him to sign an extended deal. None though have worked, as confirmed recently by Dutch outlet VI.
The football website have long been ahead of the curve when it comes to the future of Van Hecke. They reported 12 months ago that Van Hecke stopped negotiations opened midway through the 2024-25 season with Brighton because he wants to play Champions League football.
VI now claim: “The chances of the collaboration (between Brighton and Van Hecke) continuing for much longer are slim.”
“Brighton tried several times to entice Van Hecke to sign a new, significantly improved contract. But the Dutch defender is stoic. He dreams of playing at the top level in Britain and has pinned his hopes on the next step.”
Firstly, can we call every contract between a player and club a collaboration from now on? Secondly, the Albion will have to sell Van Hecke this summer if they are to receive a fee reflecting his true value.
Van Hecke will not be short of suitors. Liverpool, Chelsea & Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Spurs have been all heavily linked. Although Tottenham have seemingly got their wires crossed and confused Van Hecke wanting Champions League football with Championship football.
He is not going to follow you into the second tier, Spurs fans.
Brighton have prepared themselves to replace Van Hecke
Losing a player as good as Van Hecke would represent a significant blow to any Premier League club. But the fact contract talks have been at a standstill for 18 months already has given Brighton plenty of time to consider how they might replace Van Hecke.
For a club known for their long-term planning and looking to have replacement players already at the club before current stars depart, that has proven helpful.
The Albion signed two new centre backs last summer with a view to Van Hecke leaving and Lewis Dunk being phased out as he hurtles towards his mid-30s.
Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppola
Neither Olivier Boscagli nor Diego Coppola have played anywhere near the number of Premier League minutes they would have expected after signing from PSV Eindhoven and Hellas Verona respectively.
That is through no fault of their own. Van Hecke has been magnificent and Dunk is enjoying his best campaign in a couple of years, making himself almost undroppable.
The Albion captain’s Indian Summer comes after Brighton looked a more stable defensive unit last season when Adam Webster and even Igor Julio partnered Van Hecke.
This lack of game time saw Coppola loaned to Paris in January due to concerns it might cost him a place in the Italy squad for the World Cup.
Not that anyone needed to worry. The Azzurri hilariously missed out on qualifying for the third tournament in succession after losing their playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The loan does, however, highlight the difficulty Brighton have in keeping four quality centre backs happy when they are fighting for two places in Fabian Hurzeler’s starting XI.
Coppola needs first team football for his international aspirations and his development. As a talented 22-year-old centre back, Coppola will only reach his full potential by playing games.
Boscagli is in a different boat. Aged 28, he is in the prime of his career. When he ran down his PSV contract to join the Albion on a free, he was probably not imagining he was swapping Champions League football and challenging for trophies in the Netherlands for the Brighton bench.
Age and experience or raw potential?
Either Coppola or Boscagli would be an adequate in-house replacement for Van Hecke. Boscagli has the age and experience advantage. Coppola the raw potential and longer-term prospects. They have hardly put a foot wrong on the rare occasions they have been called upon.
Hurzeler is yet to stick his colours properly to either mast. Coppola started at Arsenal in December ahead of Boscagli when Brighton switched to a back three. The Italian was also preferred coming off the bench when necessary in the first half of the season.
But when Dunk was suffering from illness against Brentford in November, it was Boscagli who came into the starting XI.
Boscagli endured such a shaky debut that he was replaced by Dunk at half time, resulting in a much improved display as the Albion came from behind to sting the Bees by winning 2-1.
Since then though, Boscagli has been excellent as de facto third choice centre back whilst Coppola is in Paris (coming soon to Netflix).
Van Hecke leaving the Amex should open the door for Coppola and Boscagli to play more football next season. Which one ends up being the centre back to replace Van Hecke in the Brighton XI, however, remains to be seen.
Webster making good progress on recovery from ACL injury
Or might it be Webster? After such a strong second half of the 2024-25, Webster was cruelly struck down with an ACL injury in pre-season. It has ruled him out for the entirety of the current campaign.
Hurzeler spoke recently about Webster’s recovery, saying it was going “really well”. Although this is the same Hurzeler who insisted James Milner had a minor injury which ended up keeping him sidelined for nine months.
Webster returning to the Brighton team to replace Van Hecke would be a popular comeback story with Albion fans. Is it realistic though to expect him to return from such a serious injury and lengthy layoff aged 31 at the level required?
The forgotten man Eiran Cashin
Maybe describing Eiran Cashin as the forgotten man is a little harsh. Sometimes, I sporadically recall and chuckle to myself about how his longest Premier League appearance for Brighton so far led one Seagulls supporters to describe Cashin as looking like a garden gnome chasing Aston Villa around.
Brighton paid £9 million to Derby County in January 2025 for Cashin. It has hardly looked like money well spent. 18 minutes off the bench against Villa and one minute off the bench against Brentford are his contributions thus far.
Cashin was loaned to Birmingham City at the start of the current season but made just three league starts for the Blues. The Albion subsequently recalled him in January and sent him to Blackburn Rovers.
There have been no comparisons to garden gnomes at Ewood Park. In fact, Cashin has played a major role as Blackburn have turned their campaign around since January to pull clear of the Championship relegation zone.
He has made 16 appearances and showed the sort of versatility Brighton value in a player by playing centre back in a two, centre back in a three and left back.
Rovers reportedly want to keep Cashin for next season. It would have to be a loan deal as their current financial situation means little chance of signing him permanently.
But could Cashin come back to the Albion next season? Not to directly replace Van Hecke. But as a backup centre back after Dunk, Boscagli, Coppola and potentially Webster.
Kevin Phillips on Eiran Cashin
Championship pundit and former England striker Kevin Phillips thinks another Championship loan would be more beneficial for Cashin.
Phillips told Best Betting Sites: “I think he has found the last 12 months tough. He goes to Brighton for around £9 million and he signs a five-and-a-half-year deal.”
“Clearly, Brighton are no mugs. They do their research, they know players and they make some fantastic signings. He played a lot of games for Derby, but it hasn’t quite worked out.”
“Sometimes you need to go on loan and try to rediscover that form. Since January, he has made 16 appearances for Blackburn. So he is playing regularly.”
“Brighton would not have put him on a five-and-a-half-hear deal if they did not think there was a player there. He just needs to rediscover his Derby form.”
“I think he potentially has a future at Brighton. But he might be one of those players that just needs to maybe stay on loan again for another season, rebuild his confidence and get back to where he was. So it is tough.”
“He is a good player. And let’s not forget he is still only 24 years of age. He has got plenty of time in front of him. I think if Brighton were to move him on permanently this summer, they may have acted a little bit too swiftly if I’m being honest.”
Will Brighton make a new signing to replace Van Hecke?
Seeing as Brighton signed Cashin, Boscagli and Coppola in the space of six months, bringing in another new centre back would seem unlikely. Especially as there are more pressing defensive areas requiring reinforcement, like both full back positions.
Hence why whilst the Albion get linked with a lot of new signings, central defence is rarely a position mentioned. Even where we are now subjected to wild rumours like Manuel Neuer joining Brighton from Bayern Munich.
On that note of mental speculation of world class veterans signing for the Albion… Virgil van Dijk to teplace Van Hecke anyone?
Just the 14 years after Gus Poyet first wanted to bring him to Brighton.
About The Author
Scott attended his first Brighton game aged two-years-old at the Goldstone Ground. He has since watched over 1,100 matches across four home stadiums, four divisions and feels his parents should be charged with child cruelty for inflicting a lifetime of supporting the Albion on him.
He was part of the team who launched WAB in 2009 and has written about Brighton for the BBC, 90mins, Four Four Two, The Guardian, Sussex World – and even contributed to GQ magazine after becoming mildly-obsessed with Graham Potter’s 2021 glow up.