Real Madrid have confirmed the £50million signing of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen after activating his release clause.
The Dutch-born Spain international, 20, has penned a five-year deal at the Santiago Bernabeu as Madrid look to bolster their squad before the revamped Club World Cup, which starts in June.
Huijsen had seven offers on the table – with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle all keen to take him – but agreed terms on Friday and is now a Madrid man.
He is the first confirmed signing through the door in what promises to be a busy summer in Madrid, with Trent Alexander-Arnold set to join and Xabi Alonso expected to replace incoming Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout.
Madrid missed out on the LaLiga title, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup all to Barcelona this season and were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals by 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 prefrrred 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
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 for £12m 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.
He has played 34 times in all competitions this season and the Cherries appear resigned to losing their star defender this summer.
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.’
