20-year-old Spaniard
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Real Madrid have announced the signing of defender Dean Huijsen. The 20-year-old Spanish national team player arrives from Premier League side Bournemouth. Real could execute the transfer quickly thanks to an exit clause in the center-back’s contract. Bournemouth have announced that they will receive €59.5 million. Huijsen, who joined Bournemouth in the summer of 2024 for €15.2m from Juventus, is the most expensive defender in Real Madrid’s history.
Huijsen arrives with the task of fixing Real Madrid’s defensive problems. The Spaniard, whose market value rose from €10m to €42m this season, adds depth to a backline that saw injuries to David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, and Éder Militão. As a result, Huijsen will be registered ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. The previous most expensive defender was Militão. The Brazilian joined Real Madrid for €50m from Porto in 2019.
For Bournemouth, it is also a historic transfer. The only player who was more expensive was Dominic Solanke, whom the club sold for €64.3m to Tottenham in 2024. But in this case, they will not receive the entire transfer fee. About 10% of the profit will go to Juventus. That’s €44.3m, which means Juve will receive €4.4m. Huijsen’s former youth club, Malaga, will also receive a percentage.
From Malaga to Madrid – The remarkable rise of Dean Huijsen
It is a remarkable rise for a 19-year-old defender. But Huijsen already has quite a storied career. Aged 16, the Spaniard opted to leave Malaga and join Juventus. The Italian giants paid just €470,000 at the time. “I took a long time to make this decision, but it was the best for everyone involved,” Huijsen said in March to Relevo. The goal was to improve his defensive play. That goal was achieved first at Juve and then on loan at Roma during the second half of the 2023/24 season.
“The main reason to go to Italy was to improve my defensive game,” Huijsen said. “I wanted to become a more complete player. In Spain, the focus was ball control, and then in England, I learned all about intensity. I learned a lot from the high tempo and one-on-one situations.” At only 20, he has arrived at the world’s biggest club.
