Manchester United have not won in their last five attempts, conceding 13 goals in the process. And Ruben Amorim is already planning to strengthen the backline moving forward.
Victor Lindelof is expected to depart, either this winter or once his contract ends and INEOS seem to have found the perfect replacement from within the Premier League.
It is no secret that the new co-owners prefer young stars with room to improve with Premier League experience seen as an added bonus.
And according to Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb, the Red Devils are eyeing Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen as a potential option this January.
Huijsen a target
The two-footed centre-back has become a mainstay in Andoni Iraola’s side, starting the last seven league games in a row with Bournemouth not losing a game during this impressive run while the player himself contributed two goals.
The Spaniard put on a masterclass against Amorim’s team in December as the Cherries won by three goals with Huijsen also getting his name on the scoresheet.
And that impressed the Portuguese tactician enough for him to ask INEOS to get him the Spain U21 international as soon as possible with an offer expected within the next few weeks.
However, a potential deal will not be easy to conclude given Real Madrid’s interest in the 19-year-old while Bournemouth themselves have no interest in allowing the youngster to leave so soon after joining them.
“It’s not just Real Madrid who are interested in Dean Huijsen, defender of Bournemouth. The centre-back, bought in the summer from Juventus for around 18 million euros including bonuses, is being followed by several big clubs for the near future.
Real Madrid also like him
“Huijsen also scored against Manchester United, the one in the final 0-3 at Old Trafford. The good performance led the Red Devils themselves to circle his name in red, so much so that it seems they are willing to make an offer in the next few weeks.
“However, it is likely that Bournemouth will decide not to sell the player in January.”
The English side had paid €18 million for Huijsen last summer and it was a surprise to see the young centre-back depart Juventus for the Cherries given United were among the teams who were looking at him back then.
Jose Mourinho had plenty of words of praise for him back when the defender was on loan at AS Roma and given his importance to the Cherries, a departure could cost more than €50 million, given the player’s age and contract.
A summer approach seems more likely and even then, it would take a gigantic offer to get him.
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
