New Real Madrid signing Dean Huijsen was a hot commodity during the summer transfer window after a breakout campaign with Bournemouth, and his agent has now revealed the five clubs the Spanish giants beat out to win the race for his signature.
Following plenty of speculation over his future, the Spain international eventually made the move to the Spanish capital in a deal worth £50million (€57m / $67m), disappointing a number of other suitors in the process.
Huijsen signed a five-year contract with Los Blancos, with the deal marking a new Real Madrid transfer record, as the 20-year-old became the most expensive defensive signing in the club’s history.
The former Cherries star has gone from strength to strength in Madrid and had started every game for Real this season before suspension saw him miss Saturday’s victory over Espanyol.
And now his agent, Ali Barat, has opened up on exactly which teams beat to secure Huijsen’s transfer and why the move to Madrid was an ‘easy’ one to make for the centre-back.
“We always thought Real Madrid would come in; Dean is a fantastic player and after two games with the national team, Juni [Calafat] contacted us, and everything moved very quickly, honestly,” Barat told Spanish newspaper AS.
“Absolutely. When they [Madrid] came along, it was an easy decision.
“There were many clubs, but with Real Madrid [in for him], there was no doubt.”
Barat went on to provide in detail the clubs that were in the mix to sign Huijsen, adding: “Chelsea wanted him, even since January. They were the first big club really interested, but Bournemouth didn’t want to sell in January. And his release clause wasn’t active then, only in the summer.
“And of course, after playing for Spain’s national team, we had about seven big clubs – Bayern [Munich], Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle. They all wanted Dean, to be honest.”
The one that got away then for many top Premier League clubs, with Huijsen expected to return to the Real starting line-up when they travel to Levante on Tuesday evening.
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