Juventus: who is Dean Huijsen, the nugget so coveted by PSG?

This has been the new attraction of the Parisian transfer window for several days. Convinced of the need to strengthen its defense, Paris Saint-Germain is working hard to find new reinforcements in the defensive sector, at a time when Milan Škriniar and Presnel Kimpembe are no longer assured of being kept in the Parisian project in the long term. Thus, several rumors have come to shake up the Parisian news in this sense in recent months. From Leny Yoro to Dayot Upamecano, via Diego Llorente, Giorgio Scalvini, Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Buongiorno, Maxence Lacroix or even Jean-Clair Todibo, we have lost count of the number of defenders who have been mentioned on the Parisian tablets since last January with a consistency in the background: Paris is looking for defensive reinforcements. In this sense, Luis Campos and the Parisian management have activated their plan Bs in recent weeks with one file more advanced than others.

The young Dutch-Spanish defensive rock, Dean Huijsen (19 years old), has caught the eye of the Paris Saint-Germain board, who was also at one time mentioned on the side of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. According to information from the Italian press confirmed by our colleagues at RMC Sportthe Juventus defender has given his consent to the capital club. In his edition, The Republic had announced that Huijsen was heading to PSG and that he should bring in around 20 million euros to Juve. The player’s entourage and PSG are very close to a contractual agreement and the Parisian club has even started discussions with the Piedmontese team. However, Tuttosport And The Stamp specify that there is still a shortfall of 10 million for all parties to reach an agreement since the Old Lady is reportedly demanding 30 million.

Roots between Amsterdam and Malaga

Born on April 14, 2005 in Amsterdam to a Dutch family, Dean Huijsen moved to Spain, more precisely to Marbella in Andalusia, at the age of 5. His father is a former star of the Ajax training center who had a modest professional career, also going to AZ Alkmaar, before taking a hasty retirement due to extra-sporting affairs. Indeed, Dean’s father, Donny Huijsen, was a regular in the Amsterdam nightlife and had close ties to Dutch drug barons. Moreover, Donny Huijsen was sentenced to five years in prison for cocaine trafficking. He was acquitted on appeal in 2006. Having left for Spain to start a new life, the Huijsen family settled there permanently. In Andalusia, young Dean caught the eye of Spanish recruiters.

After five spells at the small Costa Unica club, Dean Huijsen joined the Malaga CF training centre at the age of 10. His attacking qualities for a central defender quickly made themselves known with several goals to his name in the teams. He took part in two friendly matches for the Malaga first team at the age of 17 against Standard de Liège and Rijeka. He even received offers from Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​FC Sevilla… which he rejected to stay at Malaga on the advice of his father. Moreover, Donny played a leading role in his son’s development: “I think I can resist temptation better. If I have to play football, I don’t go to parties. Of course my father went. My father sometimes gives advice. He knows what bothers defenders. He also tries to protect me from the mistakes he made.” he said in an interview. But it was in Italy that Dean Huijsen would make a name for himself.

An explosion in Italy

It was in the summer of 2021 that Dean Huijsen joined the Juventus youth team, before being quickly promoted to the Juve NextGen team, the reserve section composed mainly of the club’s greatest talents to facilitate the transition to the professional world. As a defender, the choice seemed obvious to the player. Italy being a country historically successful in the development of defenders: “In Spain, you regularly play against amateur clubs, even if you play for a professional club. At Juventus, the emphasis is really on defense. At first, it took a while to get used to it. Then, I was regularly reprimanded by other players and coaches.“, he had declared. In this sense, he was quickly compared to his colleague who also passed through Juventus, Matthijs de Ligt, who had also spoken well of the young Turin nugget: “We have a pretty similar style” Note that his father and mother also moved to Italy to accompany him in his explosion.

A tall defender with a good ball, the 19-year-old started on the bench of Juventus Turin at the start of last season. While he was making waves with the Piedmontese team’s Primavera, his future was logically written in the Turin city. However, the Spanish U21 international only appeared once with the Old Lady. Eager to get even more playing time, Dean Huijsen aimed to be loaned out last winter in order to get a little more playing time. Approached by many modest teams in the Italian elite, he joined AS Roma. A choice that proved to be profitable. Very quickly gaining playing time under the leadership of José Mourinho, the Amsterdammer is also part of the plans of successor Daniele De Rossi. Having coached the best players in the world, the Special One has even claimed that he is already one of the most talented central defenders in Europe.

An ambidextrous offensive defender

With the ball, Dean Huijsen has certain qualities that make him an interesting asset to any system. First of all, he is perfectly ambidextrous, in terms of line-breaking passes, long balls, tackles… He can do pretty much everything with both feet, although he seems more comfortable with his left foot. When the ball is at his feet, he likes to progress it with vertical passes to the inside, often targeting even the highest player like the number 10 or the point forward in order to set up a combination to the back. He has shown an ability to make all sorts of passes, whether it be lobbed passes to the midfield or the back, cross-field passes or quick short passes under pressure. Before receiving the ball, Huijsen makes sure to analyse and plan his next move, which helps him make quick passes to the available player. His size remains quite atypical even if he is close to 2m00. Indeed, he is a very fast defender capable of chaining long runs. His technical disposition allows him to advance the game with the ball at his feet. But it is also this madness that can sometimes work against him, although he makes few technical errors.

Without the ball, Dean Huijsen is a machine of aggression, energy and intensity. From the first minute to the 90th, he smothers every player who enters his zone. He is quick to follow wingers who break away, and likes to get into position to use his body. The centre-back is constantly scanning without the ball, anticipating potential threats such as a pass between the lines or a cut-back, and adjusting his body position accordingly. His speed of rotation and recovery rate mean that even if he makes a mistake, he always has a good chance of correcting it. His long legs also give him greater reach in his tackles and in general in his interventions. He also knows how to use his arms to disrupt the balance of his opposite number. In the air, Huijsen is almost unbeatable, dominating his opponent on numerous occasions. During his career, the Dutch-Spanish has played in both a three-man and a four-man defence, both left and right axial. And sometimes even a midfielder positioned in front of the defense. PSG could therefore get their hands on a real defensive Swiss army knife capable of playing quickly and cleanly on the restart for the greatest happiness of Luis Enrique.