One young player who’s been linked with a potential move to Liverpool left a Sky Sports commentator in awe with his performance on Monday night.
As per Fabrizio Romano, Anfield chiefs have made contact with a view to trying to snap up Dean Huijsen, who marked his 20th birthday by helping Bournemouth to a first win in seven Premier League matches as they saw off Fulham, who recently ended the Reds’ long unbeaten top-flight run.
The Spain international is set to be a man in demand this summer, with Chelsea and Real Madrid also believed to be interested in him, and he caught the eye once again at the Vitality Stadium last night.
Sky commentators wowed by Huijsen’s performance
Bill Leslie was commentating on the match for Sky Sports, and he was effusive in his praise of the Liverpool-linked defender.
The broadcaster said: “You suspect that the years to come will be quite rewarding for that young man. I don’t know if he’s had a chance to open his presents but there might be some quite generous offers from other clubs sitting on his kitchen table when he gets home.
“Andoni Iraola has been saying that he [Huijsen] has not been talking about his future, he’s not thinking that far ahead, but no doubt about it – they’ve unearthed a gem there, haven’t they?”
Leslie’s colleague Don Goodman proceeded to name the 20-year-old as his Player of the Match in another glowing appraisal of the youngster’s birthday performance.
Liverpool will surely want to move quickly for Huijsen
Apart from one mix-up with Marcos Senesi which presented a gilt-edged opportunity for Rodrigo Muniz, who dragged his subsequent shot wide, Huijsen was imperious for Bournemouth as they reignited their push for European football next season.
As per Sofascore, the Spaniard completed 83% of his passes, lost the ball just six times from 46 touches and made a whopping 13 clearances for the Cherries (the next highest tally was four).
Such figures weren’t a freakish one-off, either. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 5% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for clearances per 90 minutes, the top 9% for progressive carries per game and the foremost 1% for interceptions per match.
Already counting Juventus and Roma among his former clubs, Huijsen’s star has truly ascended at Bournemouth, where he’s proven at a very young age that he can be a roaring success in the Premier League.
If Liverpool’s sporting director Richard Hughes was watching events at his alma mater on Monday night, he might already be fast-tracking efforts to try and win the transfer race for one of the most prodigious young defenders in European football.
