Liverpool are plotting a swoop to sign Real Madrid centre-back Dean Huijsen next summer, according to Fichajes.
Despite agreeing a deal for Jeremy Jacquet to join from Rennes next season, Liverpool are still expected to pursue another centre-back during the summer window, particularly with Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez widely anticipated to leave.
Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk has reached 34 and is no longer at his prime, while Giovanni Leoni is yet to prove himself in the Premier League and will need time to rebuild match sharpness when he returns next season, prompting the need for a new centre-back.
One of the options they’re looking at is Huijsen, according to Fichajes, which claims that the defending Premier League champions have set their sights on the former Bournemouth defender as a possible option to reinforce their back line.
Having watched and analysed his 28 matches this season, the Reds have highlighted his imposing figure and ball-playing ability as the ideal profile for their back line, according to the report.
Fichajes adds that the Merseyside club are now closely monitoring the 20-year-old in the final games of the season and are planning on submitting a formal £60m offer as soon as the summer window opens to avoid a bidding war.
Huijsen to Liverpool
Huijsen had a promising spell in the Premier League with Bournemouth last season, featuring in 36 games across all competitions for Andoni Iraola’s side, netting three goals and providing two assists.
He was a subject of keen interest last summer to several clubs before Madrid won the race to sign him in a big-money move.
His transfer made him Bournemouth’s fourth-most expensive outgoing transfer, behind Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo, Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke, and Paris Saint-Germain’s Ilya Zabarnyi.
Since he arrived in Madrid, the 6ft 5in centre-back has featured in 28 games across all competitions and has been a regular under former coach Xabi Alonso in his favoured three-man backline system.
At 20, the Spanish international possesses a perfect blend of physical and technical qualities to be a mainstay in Liverpool’s backline and potentially phase out Van Dijk when he departs the club at the expiration of his contract.
Should the Reds complete a move for Huijsen, his addition would give the club three of the most exciting centre-backs in the club’s current crop, having already added Jacquet and Leoni.
