Real Madrid have confirmed the £50million signing of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen after activating his release clause.
Spain international, 20-year-old, born in the Netherlands, has signed a five-year contract with Santiago Bernabeu as Madrid aims to strengthen their team ahead of the new Club World Cup launching in June.
Huijsen had seven different proposals on the table, with interest from Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Newcastle, but finalized the agreement on Friday, officially becoming a Madrid player.
This season, Madrid was overtaken by Barcelona for the LaLiga title, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup, and experienced a Champions League quarter-final defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Huijsen was one of Bournemouth’s outstanding players in his only season at the club, having joined the Cherries from Juventus for £12.6m last summer.
Real Madrid have confirmed the £50million signing of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen
The 20-year-old, who had seven offers on the table, waves goodbye after one year in England
Xabi Alonso, who is set to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu, wanted a young centre-back
He was nominated for the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year award and has helped Andoni Iraola’s side record a club-record points tally in the division.
While he had admiring glances from top Premier League clubs, Madrid was his preferred destination.
As Mail Sport has reported, his fee will be paid in three instalments while his former clubs Juventus and Malaga will be entitled to a 10 per cent and five per cent slice of the fee respectively.
Bournemouth are on the lookout for a replacement and have discussed a potential move for Nathan Zeze, 19, from Nantes.
Alonso has been instrumental in the decision to sign Huijsen and prioritised signing a young centre-back.
Madrid have also spoken to Liverpool about bringing forward the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold but have yet to offer a fee.
Liverpool are progressing in talks for Bayer Leverkusen right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong. They are willing to activate his £29.5m clause and are discussing personal terms with the intended Alexander-Arnold replacement.
Born in the Netherlands, Huijsen represented them at youth level, before switching to the European champions last year.
Madrid are expected to continue their Premier League raid with the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold
While he was born in Amsterdam, Huijsen has made two appearances for Spain’s senior team
After joining Bournemouth from Juventus last summer, Huijsen was initially playing a back-up role to Marcos Senesi and Illia Zabarnyi before getting his chance in the starting line-up and grabbing it with both hands.
Madrid, meanwhile, are looking for reinforcements this summer after a disappointing season where they look set to lose the LaLiga title to Barcelona.
His old youth coach Juan Gutierrez, who was at Malaga when Huijsen joined aged 10, warned him against a move to Los Blancos where his game time would dramatically decrease.
‘Dean is going to be a leader no matter where he goes, so I hope whoever signs him they play him as a starter, and he’s not a project for the future,’ Gutierrez said.
‘He is a player for now. There are very few like that at his age, which is why I don’t know to what extent it would be a good option to sign for Real.
‘No one can guarantee you’ll play because of your pretty face but if he leaves Bournemouth, it shouldn’t be to sit on the bench.’
