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News
- 59 minutes ago
'The first big club interested' - Super agent CONFIRMS Chelsea's wonderkid pursuit
Cameron Smith
- 22 Sept 2025 16:15 BST
- 4 min read
News
The agent of Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen has confirmed that Chelsea wanted to sign his client during the January transfer window.
Huijsen, 20, enjoyed a stellar debut campaign at Bournemouth last year and Real Madrid won the race for his signature in June after finalising a €62.5 million deal with Andoni Iraola’s side.
Current ETV
Dean Huijsen
D (C)
Real Madrid
Dean Huijsen
D (C)
Real Madrid
ETV Range
€58.1M - €71M
Several Premier League clubs were heavily linked with a move for the Spain international before his transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu and Ali Barat, Huijsen’s agent, has revealed that Chelsea were among the clubs eager to sign the defender earlier this year.
“Chelsea wanted him, even back in January,” Barat admitted during an interview with Spanish outlet AS.
“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 the national team, we had about seven big clubs: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle… They all wanted Dean, to be honest.”
Chelsea fail to sign Dean Huijsen
Despite missing out on Huijsen, Chelsea ultimately opted against signing an out-and-out central defender in 2025, with the club prioritising attacking reinforcements instead.
The club did purchase Ajax wonderkid Jorrel Hato for an initial fee of €44.2m, although he is seen as a back-up option to Marc Cucurella at left-back, rather than an alternative to the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana or Benoit Badiashile.
Huijsen made 36 appearances across all competitions for Bournemouth last season and he has immediately nailed down a starting berth under Xabi Alonso at Real Madrid.
The 20-year-old is currently the eighth-most valuable central defender in world football - courtesy of his €64.5m Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) - and although Chelsea were eager to sign him in January, Huijsen was always expected to return to Spain once news of Real Madrid’s interest surfaced.
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