Dean Huijsen: From Promise to Leadership at Real Madrid
Dean Huijsen stands on the edge of his second Real Madrid season with something far more serious than promise on the line. This time, it is about status. About becoming a first-choice centre-back at the Bernabeu, not just the exciting kid with potential.
Later today, in the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo La Coruna, the 21-year-old is expected to start. The minor injury that kept him out of the trip to Austria is behind him. The stage is his again.
From instant impact to harsh reality
Huijsen’s Madrid story burst into life just over a year ago, at the Club World Cup in June 2025. Real Madrid did not lift the trophy, but the young defender walked away as one of the few bright spots in Xabi Alonso’s side. Composed on the ball, aggressive without it, he looked like he had been there for years.
That form flowed straight into the opening weeks of La Liga. He looked like a steal, like a long-term pillar of the back line. Then the team’s results dipped, and so did his clarity.
As Madrid hit their first real slump of the season, Huijsen’s performances started to swing wildly. Confidence sometimes tipped into overconfidence. He stepped out when he should have held, tried to force passes that were not on. Concentration slipped, and with it, his place. The automatic starter tag vanished.
The response came late, but it came. In the final stretch of the campaign, Huijsen tightened up, cut out the big errors and rediscovered the version of himself that had impressed so much at the start. Now the mission is simple and brutal: stretch that level across an entire season.
No. 4 on his back, leadership on his mind
Inside Valdebebas, nobody is pretending Huijsen is just another squad player. He is one of the club’s major defensive investments, and he knows it. He wants more than minutes. He wants to grow into a leader of the Real Madrid defence.
The No. 4 shirt on his back underlines that belief. At this club, that number carries weight. It is not handed out lightly.
He also has a powerful ally on the bench. Jose Mourinho knows him better than most. During his time at AS Roma, the Portuguese coach personally pushed to bring Huijsen in on loan. That spell in Serie A fast-tracked his development before he jumped to the Premier League and, eventually, to Madrid.
Now Mourinho is the man calling the shots at the Bernabeu, and Huijsen has used pre-season to remind him what he can offer. He started both training matches at Valdebebas, showing sharpness and authority. A minor physical issue then blocked his trip to Austria for the first official friendly against Fiorentina, halting his rhythm at the wrong time.
He picked it back up against Ferencvaros, coming on for the second half and using those 45 minutes to rebuild fitness and tempo. It was not spectacular, but it was important.
Konate arrives, comfort zone disappears
This season, the landscape around him has changed. David Alaba has gone. In his place, Ibrahima Konate has walked through the door at the Bernabeu, bringing Champions League pedigree and immediate pressure on every centre-back in the squad.
For Huijsen, that turns the coming months into a straight examination. He already knows what Mourinho wants: focus, reliability, presence. The club has shown its faith with the contract, the shirt, the minutes. Now comes the unforgiving part — turning flashes of brilliance into weekly reliability.
If he nails that, he is not just in the team. He becomes part of the spine.
Midfield in flux: Camavinga and Tchouameni in the spotlight
While Huijsen fights for his place at the back, Real Madrid’s midfield has been a revolving door of rumours all summer. The club’s moves, and near-moves, have dragged several big names into uncertainty.
The signing of Bernardo Silva has reshaped the picture. At the same time, both Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga have found themselves repeatedly mentioned as potential departures, even with Tchouameni understood to have agreed a new long-term deal.
According to ESPN journalist Rob Dawson, speaking on the United Stand, Manchester United are closely watching both Frenchmen as “market opportunities”, waiting to see if the situation at Madrid cracks open.
Camavinga sounded out to England
Dawson revealed that intermediaries had already tested the waters in the Premier League regarding Camavinga before the window truly opened.
“United were told before the summer that Real Madrid were going to look to try and get a few players out the door,” he said.
“As far as I know, Camavinga was offered to Premier League clubs by intermediaries just to gauge interest.”
That aligns with the uncertainty around his standing in Mourinho’s plans. Camavinga wants to stay in Madrid, but he has not yet nailed down the status of undisputed starter. He is in the team often, but not guaranteed. His pre-season has not changed that. At 23, with chances on the pitch, he has struggled to dominate games in the way the coaching staff would have hoped.
The talent is obvious. The role is not.
Tchouameni: renewed, but not fully settled
Dawson drew a clear line between Camavinga’s case and that of Tchouameni. The French international is understood to have agreed a new long-term contract with Real Madrid. Yet the absence of any official announcement leaves a small cloud over his future.
Manchester United are not pushing hard for either player right now. They are watching, not bidding. The stance is opportunistic rather than aggressive.
“I think United are looking at those two as market opportunities,” Dawson explained.
Any move would be complex. The player would have to genuinely want Old Trafford, not just accept it as an escape route. They would have to be ready to walk away from the Bernabeu, and United would need to fit their wages into a structure that has already been stretched by past mistakes.
“You have to be sure that they want to play for Man United, that they want to leave Real Madrid and they’re not just being forced out, you have to make sure that they fit into your wage structure,” Dawson said.
Rodri miss keeps the door open
One thing is clear: if Real Madrid had landed Rodri, the equation would have changed dramatically. With the Spaniard anchoring midfield, it would have been almost inevitable that at least one of Tchouameni or Camavinga moved on this summer.
That deal never happened. The door, for now, stays open for both Frenchmen to convince Mourinho they belong at the core of his project.
Everything now hinges on what Madrid decide between today and the close of the transfer window. If they move again for a holding midfielder, the balance shifts. A new arrival in that role could instantly turn one of their current assets into the kind of “market opportunity” Manchester United are waiting to exploit.
Until then, Huijsen fights for his place at centre-back, Camavinga battles for influence, and Tchouameni waits for his renewal to be made public. Three careers, one club, and a summer that could still redraw the map of Madrid’s future.
