Jan Paul van Hecke suffered 'unfortunate moment' in Netherlands draw vs Germany - Dutch media

Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Paul van Hecke received mixed reviews for his display as the Netherlands drew 1-1 with Germany on Thursday.

The 26-year-old started and featured throughout in the Nations League opener, with Cody Gakpo's stoppage-time strike cancelling out Felix Nmecha's first-half goal.

The centre-back has become a key player for the Netherlands in recent months, featuring throughout at the World Cup alongside Virgil van Dijk.

Tottenham signed Van Hecke for £52million from Brighton in the summer as part of a significant spending spree that surpassed £400m.

The Dutchman was highly rated on the South Coast and has shown his quality at times in North London, but it has been a difficult adaptation.

Van Hecke scored his first goal for Tottenham last week as the team lost 3-2 to Aston Villa, leaving them at the bottom of the Premier League for at least the remainder of the international break.

Dutch media divided on Jan Paul van Hecke

When Tottenham secured a deal for Van Hecke in the summer, it was widely considered a quality signing.

The defender has been a consistent performer in the Premier League for several years now and the Lilywhites jumped the queue for his services over the likes of Liverpool, who were said to be interested.

When he can produce solid performances as he did on Thursday, it becomes clear that Van Hecke's problems at Tottenham are not regarding his quality.

The defender completed 93 per cent of his passes and five of his six attempted long balls, also managing to create a chance.

Defensively, the 26-year-old was supreme. He made a tackle, three blocks, two clearances, won seven duels and made six recoveries - more than any other outfield player.

Meet Met Oranjie rated his performance a 6.5 out of 10, and wrote: "During the recent World Cup, Jan Paul van Hecke was one of the bright spots for the Dutch national team, and he continued that form remarkably well against Germany. 

"The central defender was hardly troubled and made a solid impression. Fortunately, one unfortunate moment, in which the ball deflected dangerously off his body, had no consequences."

Yet Matthijs Klerkx, for Soccernews, gave him just a five, and wrote: "His start at Tottenham Hotspur this season was unfortunate. He quickly ended up in the referee's book and struggled on the counter-attack.

"In possession, it wasn't much either. From London to Amsterdam, it was a close call."

Van Hecke outlines Tottenham struggles

Tottenham have finished 17th in two consecutive seasons, and were never going to become a force overnight.

But not many have expected that, even after such reinforcement, Roberto De Zerbi's team would look quite as bad as they have.

"We had imagined it would be different. The way we play and concede goals is unacceptable," Van Hecke said on international duty this week.

"The way the energy drained away from the team is simply not right.”