Is Dean Huijsen Liverpool’s Answer to a Trent Alexander-Arnold Departure? | OneFootball

Dean Huijsen – The Perfect Trent Alexander Arnold Replacement

The longer the contract dispute between Liverpool FC and their homegrown vice-captain, Trent Alexander Arnold, continues to stutter, the more likely it is that the world-class right-back will leave for Real Madrid in a few months. Ultimately, the notion of making the 26-year-old the club’s highest-paid player appears to be the case, which is simply not possible for a fullback, no matter how talented. The increased wage demands of the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Ibrahima Konaté, Alisson Becker, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, and Dominik Szoboszlai, would create an immediate wage ceiling dilemma as a raft of squad members would start demanding obscene salaries and put too much strain on the club.

Regarding Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, those two titans of the modern game will be awarded their final contracts and stand as the best players at the club and indeed within the entirety of world football. To award long-term service and stand these two legendary figures above the rest of the playing staff would be a far simpler sell, as their gravitas and stature surely demand unanimous recognition. Their wages would not create in-house issues, which is why it’s apparent that their extended deals are being held off to safeguard the backlash that would surround their younger teammate, TAA.

With that, a likely scenario that the Reds would need to recruit a replacement for their current vice skipper, my wants and desires point me to a positional reshuffle and supplementation of a centre-back. Based upon the form that warrants a chance to make the first team spot his own, I would immediately award Conor Bradley the opportunity to stake his claim. As a backup and defensive option that would also be given a similar chance, Joe Gomez could make that ideal rotation piece at full-back where he has so often been able to deliver the type of performances that are needed against teams that target the wide areas. In that situation and with the pair of Reds fighting for that much-coveted position, the replenishment in the centre defence would be needed and there is only one name that jumps out as a must-have recruit for the summer.

Dean Huijsen

– Club – Bournemouth

– Nationality – Spain

– Age – 19 (Born: 14/04/2005)

– Contract Expiry – 30th June 2030

– Playing Positions – RCB / LCB

– Height – 6ft 5inch

– Weight 87kg

– Under 21 International Caps – 7

– Career Appearances – 65

– Transfermarkt Value – €18m

– Realistic Market Value – €60m

Is He The One?

With a rumoured buyout clause of £55m that becomes active at the close of this season, this future star of the game is as close to perfect a signing as one could imagine. When considering a long-term successor to the Anfield captain, Virgil van Dijk, this former Juventus prodigy has the physical attributes, speed, ball-playing ability and positional awareness to be moulded into a world-class defender. His performances this season for a fantastic Bournemouth team have been staggering and the level of play he is delivering is remarkable at such a young age. As a summer signing for a mere £15m, future Spain international, Dean Huijsen, represents perhaps the acquisition of the 2024 summer and it seems like he may have been the long-term parting target of their former Sporting Director, Richard Hughes, the man that now holds that same position at Anfield.

Given that the current Liverpool executive, Hughes, attempted to snag the giant teenager for his new club before his arrival on the south coast, it does point to a long-held admiration for the defensive piece. The 19-year-old chose to move to a club where he could play regularly and adapt to the most demanding footballing league in world football, thereby which would point to a level of maturity and confidence in creating his pathway to the pinnacle of world football. After only a season at the Cherries, it seems like a breakout year for the overachieving club will lead to a move away in the summer months, one that could very well see him land on Merseyside.

Though the lack of real transfer dealings under Arne Slot has been slow in forming, the form and position of his side point to logic in maintaining the group inherited. This summer appears to be a critical period for all key decision-makers and I believe that history proves the current Sporting CEO, Michael Edwards, to be the perfect man to aid regeneration. The famous number 66, Trent Alexander Arnold, may be set to leave in a few months, however, the in-house replacements could create a pathway for a very exciting 6ft 5inch addition, in the mould of Dean Huijsen.