Brighton and Hove Albion defender Jan Paul van Hecke has heaped praise on teammate Bart Verbruggen, insisting recent criticism of him was wide of the mark.
The centre-back has been speaking to De Telegraaf about his Brighton teammate, who is currently starring for the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
He was certainly one of the key players in their opening game win over Poland, with a save late on ensuring his side secured all three points and a winning start to the tournament in Germany.
That performance continued Verbruggen’s rapid rise in the game so far, having gone from making his debut at Anderlecht to establishing himself there, making a big money move to Brighton and becoming their number one and now convincing Ronald Koeman to make him the Netherlands’ number one.
He’s largely faced praise for his performances for Brighton and the Netherlands so far, with some in his home country even suggesting he could become as good as the likes of Manuel Neuer.
It’s not all been positive, though, with analyst Johan Derksen recently claiming that the Brighton number one is no use when it comes to crosses into his box.
Van Hecke is having none of that, though, lavishing praise on his teammate today and insisting that criticism is unfounded.
“He is a very all-round goalkeeper with few weaknesses,” he said.
“He radiates calm, plays football very well and has a great reflexes. In addition – and he has to do that at Brighton – he keeps forward, so that all the opponent’s deep balls are in front of him.
“When playing along, he varies well in long and short passes. And I think he is good at corners and in the air.
“I think Bart is very strong on crosses, even on withdrawn balls, because he defends his goal very aggressively and is certainly not afraid to attack the ball.”
