Liverpool WILL pay £50million for Dean Huijsen, so what does that mean for Virgil Van Dijk?

It's to no surprise that Liverpool are looking at purchasing a centre-back this summer.

The club last bought a defender back in the summer of 2021 when Ibrahima Konate was secured from RB Leipzig, although that was seven transfer windows ago.

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As such, the team needs refreshing and although Jarrell Quansah was promoted to the first team under Jurgen Klopp, it is clear that whenever Konate is available, Arne Slot will play him.

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In addition, Virgil Van Dijk is getting on now at 33 years old and he is currently not expected to be at the club next season, because his contract is up in June, so changes in personnel are likely.

The latest reports suggest that Liverpool are already in cahoots to bring a new player in, although the specific nature of the player will dictate how the club decides to proceed regarding the other recruits lined up.

Bournemouth's Dean Huijsen - a Liverpool player in waiting

According to the i newspaper, 'Liverpool are prepared to meet the buyout clause in Dean Huijsen's Bournemouth contract after identifying him as a long-term replacement for club captain Virgil Van Dijk.'

The fee in question would be around £50m for the 19-year-old Spaniard, who has been lighting up the Premier League for the Cherries this season after injuries plagued Andoni Iraola's defensive back line.

While he is exceptionally talented, the young centre-back might not have expected to feature quite as heavily as he has. Before he joined Bournemouth, he was at Juventus where he played 26 games in a mixture of starts and cameo appearances for the academy and the first-team.

However this season, he has been front and centre in the Premier League, having already played more games than his last outing, recording 2080 minutes on the pitch in 27 appearances - an average of 77 minutes per game.

As such, Liverpool have outlined him as a plausible recruit for the summer and reports are confident that he will become a Red in a second successive move in two years.

But if Huijsen does move to Anfield, then where does that leave us?

As mentioned earlier, it is clear that Liverpool need a centre-back. Quansah is still young and has been marginalised by Slot until his development is complete. Likewise, Joe Gomez is set to leave this season and while Van Dijk could also leave this season, Konate is only contracted until 2026.

Upon Joel Matip's retirement last season, Liverpool fans were expecting a new player to be brought in to ensure the team didn't lose its squad depth, but no one arrived. Is Huijsen the belated Matip replacement, or the Van Dijk replacement?

If he's the former, then great. He's a young centre-back with Premier League experience and he has the potential to be a great leader for the club moving forward, working closely with Van Dijk before the Dutchman's career comes to an end.

But if he's the latter, then Huijsen will has enormous shoes to fill and there would be a significant lack of leadership and experience in Arne Slot's defensive line, so another centre-back would still need to be brought in.

Of course, plenty still has to happen before we start fretting over how the Spaniard might fit into Liverpool's squad. We don't yet know whether Van Dijk will be around next season and that might directly impact whether Huijsen's release clause is activated or not.

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But for the time being, all that is clear is that Liverpool seem to be shopping in the right areas this summer, because Huijsen would be an incredibly exciting incoming transfer if the club pulls it off.

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