Real Madrid Struggles This Season, Signs Dean Huijsen to Fix Defensive Issues

Spanish football giant Real Madrid has had a disappointing season. The club missed out on all four major trophies — the Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Spanish Super Cup.

The main problem for Madrid was their defense. This season, they conceded a large number of goals.

• In La Liga alone, they conceded 38 goals.
• In Copa del Rey, 11 goals.
• In the Spanish Super Cup, 5 goals.
• In the Champions League, 22 goals.

Altogether, Real Madrid let in 76 goals across competitions — 12 more than last season. If they concede again in their final La Liga match against Real Sociedad, it would be their worst defensive record in the 21st century.

One of the biggest reasons for this poor defense was injuries. Key defenders like Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, and Lucas Vázquez all missed games due to injuries. Because of this, midfielders like Fede Valverde, Tchouaméni, and Camavinga had to play in defense.

Opponents took advantage of this and scored many goals. That’s why Real Madrid has been looking for a reliable defender. They found one in Dean Huijsen, a talented 20-year-old Spanish defender who played well in the English Premier League this season.

Many top clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Newcastle were interested in Huijsen, but Real Madrid won the race. They signed him for a record £50 million on a 5-year contract. This is the most money Real has ever spent on a defender.

This big signing shows how urgently the club needed to fix its defense. Now, the pressure is on Huijsen to prove himself at the top level.

He is set to join Real Madrid on June 1. The club believes he can help solve their defensive problems. Huijsen is already known as one of the best young defenders in Europe. He is strong with long passes and good in the air, standing 6 feet 5 inches tall. He is expected to pair well with Rüdiger in central defense.

Huijsen’s football idol is Sergio Ramos, former Real Madrid captain. Because Ramos is his inspiration and Real is his dream club, Huijsen turned down offers from English teams.

At Real Madrid, he will be coached by Xabi Alonso and is expected to make his debut on June 19 against Al Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Huijsen joined the Premier League only last year. In July 2024, he signed a 6-year deal with Bournemouth, where he played 30 matches and scored 3 goals. His great performance caught the eye of Real Madrid.

He made his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest, where he played very well in a 1-1 draw. After a few substitute appearances, he became a regular starter in November when teammate Marcos Senesi got injured. Since then, Huijsen never lost his starting spot.

His full name is Dean Donny Huijsen Wijsmuller, and he was born on April 14, 2005, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At age 5, he moved to Spain and trained at Costa Unida Academy. Later, he joined Malaga, then moved to Italian club Juventus in 2021. He played 27 matches and scored once for Juventus.

In the 2023–24 season, he only played one match for Juventus before going on loan to AS Roma, where he played 13 matches and scored 2 goals. From Roma, he moved to Bournemouth in July 2024.

Internationally, Huijsen has played for both Netherlands and Spain. He represented Netherlands at U-17, U-18, and U-19 levels before switching to Spain in 2024. For Spain, he played 7 matches for the U-21 team and debuted for the senior team in 2025 in the Nations League against the Netherlands.

Now, Real Madrid hopes he can become their next great defender — maybe even follow in the footsteps of Sergio Ramos.