Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is running out of fit centre-backs owing to the injury crisis at the club. This is why the Red Devils are likely to target another centre-back in the summer.
The left-sided centre-back position is one position that needs reinforcements with Lisandro Martinez unlikely to be fit for the start of the new season.
Both Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans are likely to depart once their contract ends while Harry Maguire is too slow to play in the position any longer.
Luke Shaw cannot be trusted due to his injury record while Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven are still young. The 20-time English league champions have identified Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen as the perfect replacement.
Huijsen a perfect fit for Amorim
He is only 19 and fits INEOS’ signing profile while the young Spaniard is genuinely two-footed and has been a revelation since his move to England.
Lots of young players struggle during their debut campaign in the Premier League but not the former Juventus ace. He has 27 games under his belt and has contributed two goals while helping keep six clean-sheets for the high-flying Cherries.
It was a surprise to see the Bianconeri sell him for a meagre €18 million in 2024 considering his skill-set. He is in top 99 percentile for interceptions and 96 percentile for clearances.
His ability with the ball at his feet is one of his strong suits with the youngster in the top 96 percentile for shot-creating actions while also being in the 91 percentile fort progressive carries, which shows how much of a perfect fit he is for Amorim’s system (via fbref).
The Amsterdam-born defender’s exploits have earned him a call-up to the Spanish senior team for the first time and Real Madrid have sat up and taken notice.
As per The Sun, Real Madrid are set to compete with the Old Trafford side for Huijsen. Last summer, a similar battle had erupted between both clubs for Yoro with United ultimately winning the race.
Real vs United again
“REAL MADRID will step up their ploy to land Dean Huijsen this summer after the Bournemouth defender was promoted to Spain’s senior squad. Teenager Huijsen got his first call up because of injury to Barcelona’s Inigo Martinez.
“The reigning European champions have been monitoring the Amsterdam-born centre back’s progress with Bournemouth closely this season.
“But scouts will use the next few days to get an even closer look at the player who has enjoyed a brilliant debut season in the Premier League. United are also tracking Huijsen with a view to a summer swoop.”
Amorim will know all about him with Huijsen helping the Cherries keep a clean sheet against the three-time European champions earlier this season, a game in which he also got on the scoresheet.
He has a market value of €42 million and has a release clause of £50 million. Whether INEOS can stave off competition from Los Blancos and acquire the young superstar remains to be seen.
Feature image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
