Premier League breakout star explains decision to turn down Real Madrid in the past

Dean Huijsen has been the breakout star in the Premier League this season, standing out with his performances for AFC Bournemouth.

Having joined the club from Juventus in the summer, the young centre-back has been brilliant for Andoni Iraola’s side, earning interest from several big clubs across Europe.

Real Madrid, for one, are said to be tracking the 19-year-old Spaniard’s progress in the Premier League.

However, Los Blancos have already had a failed attempt at signing Huijsen, while he was still at the Malaga academy.

Indeed, before he signed for the Juventus youth setup in 2021, the teenager had a chance to sign for Real Madrid but opted to move to Italy instead.

Explaining his decision to snub the Spanish capital club for Italy, Huijsen, in an interview with The Guardian, said:

“Obviously [Real] Madrid is a great club, it is close to home, but at the time it was the best decision for me to make. I feel like it’s worked well.”

Further explaining why he chose a move to Juventus, Huijsen added: “Italy is renowned for producing defenders and being the school of defending. I saw that in my time there and that’s what I wanted to do, to develop myself overall as a defender.

“I learned a lot. Little things: how to position yourself, how to mark in the area, where to stand when a cross is coming in, how to run diagonally backwards… a bit of everything.

“They really do work on the defence there and I learned a lot from the managers, assistants and from watching videos. I’m really glad I made that decision.”

Now, though, Huijsen is back on the radars of Real Madrid as well as their arch-rivals Barcelona while a number of other top clubs in Europe have taken note of his talent.

So, a big move might just be around the corner for the young Spanish prospect and whether Real Madrid return for him remains to be seen.