– Real Madrid have officially signed 20-year-old Spanish Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth, paying his 58 million euro release clause to bolster their injury-hit defense ahead of the Club World Cup.Huijsen, a towering 1.97-meter center-back born in the Netherlands and raised in Málaga, becomes Madrid’s first reinforcement for the Club World Cup in the United States this summer. The five-year deal runs from June 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030. “Real Madrid C.F. and AFC Bournemouth have reached an agreement for the transfer of Dean Huijsen, who remains at our club for the next five seasons, from June 1, 2025, to June 30, 2030,” the Spanish club announced on its website.
“At 20 years old, Huijsen is already a Spanish international and has played in Italy’s Serie A with Juventus and Roma, and in the Premier League with Bournemouth.” Despite an irregular season with no major trophies, Madrid will wrap up the campaign competing in the Club World Cup after having already secured the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup. Huijsen, already capped by Spain, has had a meteoric rise. After early years with Málaga’s youth system, he joined Juventus in 2021 to hone his defensive game. He later played in Serie A with both Juventus and Roma, the latter stint sparked by a personal call from José Mourinho.
This season, under Spanish coach Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, Huijsen emerged as one of the Premier League’s standout young players, earning a nomination for Best Young Player of the 2024-2025 season. Although he initially represented the Netherlands, Huijsen switched allegiance to Spain after obtaining citizenship in 2024. “Spain is my home,” he told EFE in March. “I return whenever I can. I am Spanish.” Málaga CF, where Huijsen began his football journey, will receive 5 percent of the transfer fee as part of FIFA’s training compensation regulations. Though Chelsea also pushed hard for him, Real Madrid’s late entry sealed the deal, bringing Huijsen to the club where his idol once starred. EFE rmm-sk