Tottenham Hotspur star Jan Paul van Hecke has come under a lot of criticism this season, but he continues to put up numbers that show exactly why Roberto De Zerbi wanted to bring him through the door.

Many feel that Tottenham made a mistake by swapping Van Hecke for Luka Vuskovic in the summer, and that sentiment is understandable, given the Croat’s outstanding start to his Premier League career.

However, putting the 19-year-old’s performances aside, the criticism levelled at Van Hecke so far has perhaps been a bit harsh on the Dutchman.

While some of his one-v-one defending has been suspect at times, Van Hecke has been one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the Premier League this season.

His latest performance against Coventry was no different, even though he was asked to play in a slightly unfamiliar position.

Tottenham star Jan Paul van Hecke did something against Coventry that no player has done this season

The Dutchman played on the right of a back three against Coventry City on Monday, and he came under criticism for his role in the away side’s equaliser.

Jamie O’Hara absolutely tore into the Spurs centre-back, describing the 26-year-old as ‘absolute toilet’ in an expletive-laden rant.

The pundit said after Coventry’s equaliser: “What the f*** is Van Hecke doing? He is s***. He is absolute toilet. It is toilet, it is so Spurs. What is [Antonin] Kinsky doing? Van Hecke, I’m sick of it, get him out of here. We sold (Luka) Vuskovic for that pile of c***.”

However, once again, the Netherlands international showed that there are not too many defenders in world football who are better on the ball.

According to WhoScored, Van Hecke completed 34 progressive carries against Coventry, the joint most by any player in a single Premier League match this season.

Do Van Hecke’s strengths make up for his weaknesses?

There is no doubt that Van Hecke struggles when he is pulled out wide to cover spaces and defend one-v-one situations, as he has no recovery pace.

It is also clear that he is one of the best progressive-passing centre-backs in the Premier League. De Zerbi is clearly aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and evidently believes that the former outweighs the latter.

Spurs fans have long been calling for the manager to be backed, which the club have done this summer, and only time will tell if De Zerbi has made the right decision.