"What a signing" - Richard Hughes will be raging at fumbled Liverpool transfer for 'new' Sergio Ramos
Liverpool haven’t made many mistakes this summer but could missing out on Dean Huisjen come back to haunt them?
Liverpool moved quickly and effectively when the transfer window opened securing what seemed to be their top target for every position.
The one high profile signing who seemed to get away though could potentially turn out to be one of the toughest to take as Dean Huijsen makes an impressuve start to life at Real Madrid, ironically, the most likely destination for Ibrahima Konate unless he performs an about turn and signs a new contract.
Dean Huijsen makes immediate Real Madrid impact as Liverpool miss out
As a ball playing centre-half who has a towering presence, it is easy to see why comparisons to Virgil van Dijk might be made for the 20-year old who has already been capped by Spain and who never looked like he was going to spend long on the south coast at Bournemouth. A £50m transfer fee could well turn out to be a bargain if early comparisons to a Los Blancos great come true.
Speaking on The Rest is Football La Liga podcast, Spanish football expert and former Real Madrid TV presenter Alex Aljoe said of the summer signing: “It's a fresh start now and they've really strengthened, especially at the back bringing in Dean Huijsen, who was suspended for that game.
“And I think, by the way, if he was on the pitch, you know, those mistakes we saw from Asensio and Rüdiger, that's not happening with Dean Huijsen at the back. I feel like he brings a calmness to that Real Madrid back line that we probably haven't seen since [Sergio] Ramos was in the team. He's such a good player. What a signing that was. And so yeah, I think we can't look at that performance. We can't really judge what we saw in that game.”
Why did Huijsen knock back Liverpool?
Liverpool seemed to be trying hard to land Huijsen before he made the decision to move to Spain, however, Arne Slot was always up against it
"A lot was said but I just concentrated on my football, giving everything at Bournemouth and trying to finish the season in the right way,” Huijsen said when he was first unveiled at Madrid
"I wanted to be here from the first day; once Real Madrid called I didn’t have eyes for any other teams. For me, Real Madrid is the best club in the world and there is no other club when they appear. I think my first nice memory of Real Madrid was the (Champions League) final in 2014 in which Sergio Ramos scored in the last minute of added time. I would have been nine. Ramos sent me a message when (the transfe) was official. He’s my biggest idol, the best centre-back in history.
“I wouldn’t say there is one thing about him (to single out), but all the things he had: he was the most complete centre-back too”.