EXCLUSIVE: The lowdown on Dean Huijsen as Reds eye REMARKABLE Bournemouth centre-back

Last week it was claimed that Dean Huijsen was on Liverpool’s shortlist of potential centre-back arrivals.

The Bournemouth defender has been in sensational form since breaking into Andoni Iraola’s first team in December, helping the Cherries into European contention.

Liverpool Transfer Latest: Reds ready offer as star says he's STAYING

It’s been also revealed that the 19-year-old has got a pretty tantalising release clause of only £55 million. That might sound like a lot but given his age - not to mention his proven Premier League experience - it could prove to be a bargain if the Dutch-born Spaniard ends up commanding the Reds’ backline for the next decade or more.

EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool ready to strike deal with Colombian contract rebel

Virgil van Dijk is not getting any younger - and at the moment stands to leave the club at the end of the season - while Ibrahima Konate’s future looks more uncertain by the day. Not to mention Liverpool’s relative paucity in central defensive depth, which has seen Jo Gomez, Jarell Quansah and even Wataru Endo feature there this season.

Having been signed for a bargain fee from Juventus last summer, Huijsen has not jumped up the queue to become a very real prospect to take over defensive duties at Anfield.

We spoke to Italian football expert Carlo Garganese of Football Transfers for all the latest information on Huijsen. Carlo has followed Huijsen extensively throughout his young career so far and reveals Juve’s regret at losing such a top talent.

Can you explain a bit about Dean Huijsen’s background? He is the Dutch-named, Spanish defender who came through at an Italian club.

Huijsen was born in the Netherlands but moved to Spain at the age of five and grew up there. Despite playing for Netherlands’ youth national teams, he has since declared for Spain and played for the Spain Under-21s.

He was signed by Juventus from Malaga’s youth team at the age of 16.

How did Juventus manage to get him, was he one of these wide-net signings or were they laser-focused on getting him in?

Juventus have been very heavily focused on youth in recent years. They became the first Italian team to create an Under-23 team - Juventus Next Gen - to play in the Italian senior pyramid.

As a result, Juventus have focused heavily on scouting and signing the best youngsters in Europe with the promise of a pathway to senior football, first through the Next Gen in Serie C and then to the Juventus first team.

This helped them secure Huijsen and he is one of many talented youngsters to graduate from Juventus Next Gen in the last years, others include Kenan Yikdiz and Matias Soule.

He was quite highly-rated at Juventus and signed a new contract in 2023. Was he tipped as a Juventus first-team star in those days?

Soon after joining, he was rated along with Kenan Yildiz as a future star of the Juventus first team. Juventus expected him to break into the first team within years of his arrival and had set out a pathway for him.

He was supposed to join Sassuolo on loan for the second half of last season but instead rejected the move and insisted on moving to Roma instead after a personal call from Jose Mourinho.

Huijsen was painted within Juventus as a prodigious young talent and one of the best in the world for his age group. Juventus fans were very excited about him.

Tell us about how he fared on his Roma loan, taking up most of his Serie A appearances.

Huijsen generally struggled at Roma. He was signed by Mourinho in January 2024, who was then sacked just weeks later.

Daniele De Rossi came in and Huijsen wasn’t really fully trusted by the Italian, especially with Roma battling to qualify for Europe and reaching the latter stages of the Europa League.

At Roma, he was someone who was very good on the ball and he scored one great individual goal where he dribbled past a succession of opponents. But defensively he struggled.

READ MORE: How to get Carabao Cup final tickets

Was there surprise when he was sold to Bournemouth or did it look like he wouldn't work out as a first-team player?

Juventus sold Huijsen for financial reasons, as the player himself has since admitted publicly. They sold him in order to fund the signings of other players, such as Teun Koopmeiners for €60m from Atalanta.

Juve fans were very unhappy with the sale of Huijsen and Soule (who went to Roma also rather cheaply) as they saw both as the future of the club. It’s a decision that has backfired badly.

The fee was only €15m, in this market, and to a Premier League club, that looks like a giveaway.

Juventus definitely undersold Huijsen. His value has quadrupled at least in the space of just over six months. It was a big mistake by Juve, especially as the club are in financial difficulty and will likely need to make a sacrifice this summer to balance the books.

Are Juventus surprised about his development since then as he has been identified as one of the most promising defenders in Europe?

Personally, I am surprised at just how brilliant Huijsen has been this season. I saw a player in Juventus’ youth teams and at Roma who was fantastic on the ball, great press-breaking with his passing and carries, two-footed and excellent in the air given his size, but someone who I had doubts on his defensive ability.

His development and explosion so quickly has been remarkable. Juventus, perhaps, hold the same view. They certainly regret the decision to sell now.

Stylistically, who would you say he's most like?

Difficult to say. In many ways he is quite unique. How many ball-playing centre-backs do you know that are this good with both feet yet stand at 6ft 5in?

Was it unusual they didn't take a buyback clause? This is something that Italian clubs don’t do enough of, and Juventus in particular have been burned numerous times in recent years.

Had they had a buyback clause on Huijsen, Nicolo Rovella and Moise Kean, those terrible decisions to sell wouldn’t be as painful now.

READ MORE: Hugo Ekitike's agent drops massive hint about €80m Liverpool move

Do you see him making it to the very top?

As a ball-playing defender Huijsen certainly has what it takes to reach the very top. I still want to wait and see how he develops defensively, but if he continues progressing as he has this season then he can have a big career.

Liverpool FC news recap: Reds celebrate as Slot confirms star is BACK