Brighton are not expecting Jan Paul van Hecke to depart the club this January window.

According to Andy Naylor, the Seagulls are hopeful of holding onto the Dutchman beyond Tuesday’s deadline.

Roberto de Zerbi handed the defender his first Premier League start last weekend in the team’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City.

Van Hecke spent last season on loan with Blackburn Rovers, where he featured 31 times in Tony Mowbray’s side to help the club to an 8th-place finish.

But the centre-back has not been able to make much of a breakthrough in the Premier League side since returning to the Amex.

This led to reported interest from Rovers over a return, as well as a potential reunion with Mowbray at Sunderland.

Middlesbrough also expressed an interest, but it is now understood that the 22-year-old will remain with the Premier League side for the remainder of the campaign.

De Zerbi is believed to be pleased with van Hecke’s progress and has plans to use him further, especially with injuries impacting the squad at the moment.

The Verdict

A return to the Championship could have made sense if interest had been shown earlier this window.

But the absence of Levi Colwill and van Hecke’s emergence in the team over the last week has seemingly scuppered any chances of the defender going out on loan again.

This is a blow to those clubs interested as the defender has proven to be a very capable player at this level.

He has earned the chance to prove himself in the top flight, and is likely to receive greater game time going forward now as a result of this development.