Credit: Imago

Harri Burton

Sat 21 March 2026 16:30, UK

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Jan Paul van Hecke could find himself playing for Arne Slot next season after starring in Brighton’s surprising win over Liverpool on Saturday.

The Reds are struggling horrendously in the centre of defence, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate regularly making mistakes at the back, putting the manager under more pressure.

It was Danny Welbeck who took advantage of these errors on this occasion, netting twice to take his tally up to 12 Premier League goals for the season, moving just six points behind the Merseysiders.

Liverpool’s transfer plans are likely to be in the works behind the scenes, but Van Hecke’s performance at the Amex Stadium on 21 March may give the team something to think about ahead of the summer.

Arne Slot’s defence could completely change over the summer

Van Dijk and Konate have been Liverpool’s go-to centre-back partnership for the last five seasons, but that is likely to change ahead of the 2025-26 season, and understandably so.

The Reds have already signed Jeremy Jacquet on a pre-contract, and with Giovanni Leoni yet to return from injury, Slot will have more options to choose from than he does currently.

However, the Dutchman needs experience alongside Van Dijk before a passing of the guard completely, and that is exactly what Van Hecke could offer the club next season.

In January, Mick Brown told Football Insider that Van Hecke wants to join Liverpool, with no real desire to sign new terms at the Amex Stadium, and a queue of teams emerging for his signature.

Jan Paul van Hecke has earned his move away from Brighton

His current deal runs out in the summer of 2027, so if the Seagulls are to make a profit off his sale, having signed him for just £1.8million in 2020. It could be quite a lot of money now.

Since arriving, he has made 124 appearances for the seaside club, also notching four goals and four assists, becoming one of the most integral players in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad.

And it was no different against his potential future club. In 90 minutes, he had one shot on target, 53 touches, made eight clearances and two recoveries, as well as winning 100 per cent of his ground duels [FotMob].

Other than Lewis Dunk’s costly error in the first half, the 25-year-old swept up any signs of real danger against the Reds, making Slot and his team’s afternoon rather difficult away from home.

That should get alarm bells ringing ahead of the summer, with Liverpool requiring a total rebuild in defence.