Jan Paul van Hecke on Newcastle’s radar as Brighton doubts grow - Report

Brighton and Hove Albion are finding it difficult to get defender Jan Paul van Hecke to sign a new contract.

As the Premier League winds down, clubs are scrambling to get players with contracts expiring this year and next to decide their next move.

Newcastle United have a few contract situations to resolve, but they will also be watching with a keen eye what's going on elsewhere, and they could well be looking at the south coast at Brighton and Hove Albion, as Dutch defender Jan Paul van Hecke refuses to sign a new deal.

The Magpies have been credited with an interest in the 25-year-old centre-back in the past and could look to take advantage of his contract situation in the summer.

Jan Paul van Hecke isn't signing a new deal at Brighton

According to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, Van Hecke has been putting off signing a new deal for a year now, and could depart this summer as Premier League clubs circle.

At the end of this season he will be entering the final year of his contract, meaning if Brighton want to pick up any significan fee for the defender, they'll have to try and move him on in the summer, or his value will plummet in January before dropping to zero next year.

Newcastle are on the lookout for a new centre-back, and having already looked at van Hecke in the past, they could be smelling blood in the water and could try and get the Dutchman at a reduced rate.

Transfer Sector on X mentioned Newcastle amongst the interested clubs, although it is worth remembering that there has been nothing recent to suggest the Magpies are still looking his way.

𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙎𝙁𝙀𝙍 𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎: Brighton have made several attempts to convince Jan Paul Van Hecke to sign a significantly improved contract, but he has remained steadfast. He dreams of playing for a top club in England.

In recent months, several clubs have shown interest. Chelsea… pic.twitter.com/fcFkNR0u9c

— Transfer Sector (@TransferSector) April 14, 2026

It's a no-brainer for Newcastle, surely?

Jan Paul van Hecke is a proven force in the Premier League, and while Newcastle haven't been linked with him recently, the club doesn't tend to walk away entirely when they like a player.

For us, it sounds like a no-brainer. If he's not willing to sign up to a new deal with Brighton, he's clearly got aspirations to move on, and talk suggests he wants to move to a 'top club' in the Premier League - whether that includes Newcastle is debatable beyond our biased bubble, but we'd like to think that includes us.

We'd suggest 'top club' means 'plays in the Champions League', which, okay, may not be us next season, but with all due respect to Brighton, we're more likely to get back into the competition than the Seagulls.

Chelsea's name is mentioned again, however, and we never like to go up against the Blues in a race for players, especially from Brighton, they're like a Chelsea feeder club.

Rumour Rating: 5/10 - This is just us putting two and two together on our own for now, based on historical information combined with new information. It could go either way, but we'd encourage it.