AFC Bournemouth have announced the signing of defender Dean Huijsen from Italian Serie A side Juventus for an officially undisclosed fee, reported by the Daily Echo to be in the region of £12.6 million.
The 19-year-old, came through the youth system with Spanish side Málaga before moving to Juventus in 2021.
In October 2023, he made a substitute appearance for Juventus against AC Milan. He joined Roma on loan in January 2024, gaining further experience in the top flight of Italian football making 13 appearances in all competitions, scoring twice in victories over Cagliari and Frosinone.
Huijsen has enjoyed a different start to his international career, representing the Netherlands at Under 16’s, 17’s, 18’s and 19’s levels including when the Netherlands finished as runners-up in the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. However, he has now switched allegiance to Spain and has featured for their Under-21 side.
Huijsen becomes the Cherries third signing of the summer following the additions of goalkeeper Alex Paulsen from Australian A-League side Wellington Phoenix and Sheffield United striker Daniel Jebbison.
He has signed a six-year contract with the Cherries, keeping him at Dean Court until the end of the 2029/2030 season.
UPDATE:
Dean Huijsen has passed his Bournemouth medical.
He will sign his paperwork later on today after agreeing a 6 year deal.
Exciting signing with a big future ahead of him. #afcb
— Mark McAdam (@markmcadamtv) July 27, 2024
AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake told afcb.co.uk…
“We are delighted to bring in a player of such high calibre on a long-term deal.
“Dean is someone that has such exciting potential and we are all excited to see where his journey with the club will go.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming him to Vitality Stadium and working together to help develop further all the qualities that he already possesses.”
Your say…
kirsikka said…
He may come with a big reputation but that is based on potential, not where he is now. I suspect he’s going to be pretty raw and some way from being ready to make a big splash at Premier League level.
Let’s not let the Zabarnyi experience lead us astray. Zabs was already far more experienced and ready when he joined and was able to adapt incredibly quickly. Not many players will do that.
We have to be patient and be prepared to swallow the mistakes when they happen as part of his learning process.
Good luck to him and I hope he plays a part in bringing success to AFCB as part of a fabulous career.
If he does make an instant impact then great but if not, let’s remember how old he is irrelevant of the fee and give him some time. – To join the conversation, click here.
