Something unusual happened early in the FA Cup tie at Wolves.

Jan Paul van Hecke made a mistake and it led to a move which brought a goal.

It should not have done. There was plenty yet to happen between the moment the Dutch defender was sent spinning by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and the moment Mario Lemina scored.

Such mishaps catch the eye for their rarity.

The Dutch centre-back has become one of the more consistent and reliable members of the Albion side.

A leader from the back with authority beyond his years.

Van Hecke has not been named in the latest Netherlands squad.

But the hope in the Albion camp is he will give the club and fans another reason to closely watch the Euros this summer.

Representation at Euro 2024 will not match the seven players the Seagulls sent to the last World Cup but it might not be far off.

Pascal Gross is on course to be there with Germany, Billy Gilmour should be in the Scotland squad and Lewis Dunk stands a real chance with England.

On-loan Deniz Undav has played his way into the host nation’s plans.

Bart Verbruggen is currently first choice in goal for Holland and van Hecke is pushing to be there with him, albeit in an area where the Dutch are very strong.

Talk of his chances of an international call really started around the time of those home-and-away fixtures against Ajax.

It has suddenly resurfaced again in the last couple of weeks. So could it happen?

“Hopefully I’ll get a call up. I think I’m doing well,” van Hecke said when speaking to a small group of reporters after the draw with Everton.

“I think I need to keep going and, if I play like this, maybe I will get a call up.”

Van Hecke was called into the Albion defence more than a year ago now, for a 2-2 draw at Leicester.

While he did pretty well that afternoon, it was noticeable speaking to him afterwards that he was very self-critical about his part in a Leicester goal at a corner.

He felt he should have reacted more quickly when looking to protect the far post.

There was a pretty torrid evening late in the season against a Newcastle side who were playing with a lot of verve and belief.

And then came what will be considered his break-out night in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City and Erling Haaland.

Where he has really come to the fore this season has been in his use of the ball and in the way he has taken those all-court tasks previously handed to Levi Colwill in carrying out man-to-man marking duties.

Such a role requires confidence from the player and, crucially, from the head coach.

Replying to a question from The Argus at a recent press conference, Roberto De Zerbi said: “Yes, but he deserves everything. The credit for his improvement is just of JP.

“He has an incredible level of confidence but in the same way he is a calm guy, a smart guy.

“He understands football very quickly.

“He understands the game during the game without advice or anything else.

“We are lucky and I repeat the same because we have a lot of JP’s in our team.”

Van Hecke will be up against another lively attacking unit at Craven Cottage today.

Albion went to Fulham last season but it was early in the campaign – their first defeat in fact - and a lot has changed since then.

Graham Potter’s team included Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Enock Mwepu, Leandro Trossard and Alexis Mac Allister, who scored from the penalty spot.

In a bid to chase the game, Potter sent on two attack-minded players just past the hour - Undav and, incredible as it seems now, Kaoru Mitoma, who was seen as an impact sub at the time.

There was a back three of Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster while van Hecke remained unused on the bench, which was usually the case.

In that period he was sent on very late in the 1-0 win over Leeds and helped preserve the clean sheet and points as the visitors went route one.

Initial expectations that he would go back out on loan, having shone at Blackburn in the previous season, were revised.

It is perhaps a reflection of what his strengths were at the time that I asked Potter, after that Leeds game, whether van Hecke would be kept as someone who was handy to have on the bench in case the opposition started putting the ball “in the mixer” late in a game.

Potter replied: “I think it's not just about that.

“That was the role he played at the weekend but it’s not to say he can’t get on the pitch sooner or play from the start.

“We have always been impressed by him and now he is helping us.”

Can he help a Dutch squad with players such as Virgil van Dijk, Micky van der Ven, Stefan De Vrij, Matthis De Ligt and Jurrien Timber?

Ajax teenager Jorrel Hato was called into the national squad about the time of his club’s games against Albion.

Oranje boss Ronald Koeman should know a bit about centre-backs.

De Zerbi said: “I don’t love speaking about other teams, other coaches.

“I respect everyone and it is not correct if I speak about other coaches.

“I just can say my opinion on JP van Hecke.

“I think is playing in an incredible way.

“His standard of performance is incredible and I am very happy to play with JP as a defender.”