Real Madrid’s Defensive Dilemma: Huijsen's Rise to the Fore

Real Madrid’s new season is almost here, and the noise around the club is already loud. Six new signings, a refreshed squad, and Jose Mourinho back in his natural habitat: under pressure, making big calls.

One of the biggest lies at the heart of his defence.

A crowded centre-back room

Real Madrid have loaded up at the back. Ibrahima Konate has arrived to join Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao, a trio with pedigree, experience, and very clear status in the game.

And yet, as pre-season winds down, it is Dean Huijsen who is edging to the front of the queue.

Mourinho wanted competition. He has it. What he also has is a genuine dilemma over who starts as his main left-sided centre-back.

Huijsen steps forward

Right now, Huijsen is in pole position, according to MARCA. Not as a rotation option. As a first-team regular to start the season.

There is logic behind that. He is the only centre-back in the squad who is truly comfortable on both feet, not a natural right-footer being nudged across to the left. In a Mourinho back line, where build-up angles and defensive body shape matter, that detail carries weight.

Then came the performance that turned heads.

In the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo La Coruna, Huijsen started for the first time under Mourinho and played like he had been there for years. He marshalled the backline with authority, read danger early, and won every personal battle he entered.

Seven successful defensive actions. Not a single duel lost.

Friendly or not, that kind of display sticks in a coach’s mind. It backed up the internal belief that Huijsen has the tools not just to survive at this level, but to grow into an undisputed starter and a long-term pillar of Real Madrid’s defence.

The weight of the number four

If his football didn’t already say it, his shirt number does.

With David Alaba gone, Huijsen has taken the number four. At most clubs, it is a number. At Real Madrid, it is a statement.

Sergio Ramos. Fernando Hierro. The shirt is soaked in history, leadership, and pressure. Huijsen has not tiptoed around that legacy; he has walked straight into it.

"It was always my dream to play for Real Madrid and wear the number four. As a child, my idol was always Sergio Ramos," he wrote on social media.

Those are not casual words. They reveal a player who is not shying away from expectation, but inviting it.

The one red flag

There is, however, a shadow over the optimism.

Huijsen’s injury record has already left marks on his young career. Physical setbacks disrupted his previous campaign and were serious enough to cost him a place in Spain’s World Cup squad. For a player on the brink of a breakout, that is a brutal reminder of how fragile momentum can be.

That concern has not vanished. Over the past week, he trained alone for long stretches due to discomfort, a clear sign that his body is still the one obstacle he must conquer.

Mourinho can see the profile: a two-footed centre-back, brave on the ball, aggressive in the duel, wearing the number four and playing like he belongs in it. The coach also knows that none of it matters if Huijsen cannot stay on the pitch.

So the picture is set. Konate, Rudiger, Militao — proven names ready to step in. Huijsen, the young Spaniard with the iconic shirt on his back and a starting spot within reach, fighting not just for his place, but against his own fitness history.

If his body holds, the path is there for him to become the next defensive leader at the Bernabeu. If it doesn’t, Mourinho’s big defensive plan may have to be rewritten before the season has even truly begun.