Dean Huijsen
Bournemouth, 2024-
Dean Huijsen is proof that you don’t need to be a big-name, big-money signing to be a success in the Premier League. When Bournemouth signed him as a 19-year-old from Juventus, for £12.8m in 2024, he was a relatively low-key arrival. He has not flown under the radar since, with an impressive debut season in England. The Spain international has subsequently been linked with Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham, as well as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. Name a big club, and they have probably been linked with him.
Born in Amsterdam in 2005, Huijsen lived in the Netherlands – where his dad, Donny, played in the top two divisions – until his family relocated to Spain in 2010. There, Dean excelled in Málaga’s academy, before moving to Juventus in 2021 and progressing through the ranks to make his senior debut in 2023. A five-month loan at Roma further exposed him to first-team football, prompting Bournemouth to secure his services.
A youth international for the Netherlands at Under-17, 18 and 19 level, he became a Spanish citizen in 2024 and made his senior debut for Spain in 2025. It was an international bow that tested his mettle, coming on as a first-half substitute in a Nations League tie against the Netherlands in Rotterdam. The atmosphere and opposition provided a stern test, but he responded with an excellent performance.
Under the management of Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, he has thrived in a team that has upset the big guns and pushed for European football. With his ‘Chill Guy’ goal celebrations, it is perhaps no surprise he has taken the subsequent transfer speculation in his stride. “My dad is my agent,” he explained when addressing links with a move away from Bournemouth. “He fixes everything. I don’t read anything, I don’t think about it too much, I’m just focusing on my football and working hard.”
Below, our team of UEFA-licensed coaches have analysed his technical qualities and style of play…
Technical analysis – defending
Dean Huijsen is a right-footed, aggressive central defender who is happy to play on either side, and likes to defend in front of the back line when possible. He is comfortable committing into midfield, with the tactical recognition and timing to push up and duel or intercept.
Although his direct opponent tends to be a centre-forward, Huijsen will also push on to advancing midfielders (below). But whoever he is up against, he looks to prod and poke at the ball to disrupt his opponent’s first touch.
His method of defending means opponents cannot settle and control the ball, forcing them to receive with their back to goal. This can be a poor receiving technique if they are far away from the penalty area, which means Huijsen can better defend his opponent. Due to his prodding at the ball, though, he does rely on combative and agile midfield teammates to excel at regaining second or loose balls.
His overall defensive style can be described as front-footed. He rarely passes players on, and will follow his man assertively into midfield. After the initial play has progressed and when he is out of the back line, his first thought is to get back into position. But there have been moments when he has stayed or even gone back into midfield a second time to compete in more duels. His willingness to defend on the front foot – proactively poking and prodding at the ball – helps him intercept passes in the central spaces.
This aggressive nature has also been evident in his aerial duels, where he is very competent. Propelling up off one leg, he can compete with the most imposing forwards. Where possible he is the first contact, looking to advance forward and attack the ball (below). He leaves gaps to be exploited, however, when he doesn’t win the first contact, or if his header hasn’t gained enough distance or helped retain possession. Indeed, his willingness to defend forward can leave him struggling to effectively recover back.
As a covering defender, he has also lacked the timing and speed to spin his hips when the attacker shifts the ball. This is an area he can develop, as he can’t always be the one to aggressively defend into midfield.
Technical analysis – in possession
With the ball, Huijsen is comfortable on both feet and often looks to play over, looping passes in behind after stepping forward with the ball (below). Although these can be accurate and effective, he may need to add more penetrative passes on the ground to his game, while also managing the speed with which he steps into midfield. As he carries the ball towards an organised block, he will often approach the pressure with pace. Slightly slowing his advances may give him the time to effectively adjust his decision-making.
He certainly has the quality to break compact lines with his passing and is capable of playing forward off both feet. But he will also need to develop his forward-passing solutions against low blocks, as his looping pass in behind is very difficult to execute successfully when there is minimal space between the opposition back line and the goalkeeper, or the edge of the pitch.
His longer passes are also hit with a significant amount of drop, tending to bend rather than drive through them. This is useful for planting balls just behind the back line, playing over an initial press, or into a teammate who wants to receive behind their marker. He can also bend a switch of play into a static teammate on the other side of the pitch.
A lack of flatter, driven deliveries limits how well he can play in to and beyond, though, while reducing the speed of his switches of play. Although he can get distance with his longer passes off both feet – even when pressed – expanding his repertoire will enable him to develop even further.
Central defender
Although right-footed, Huijsen has operated almost exclusively as the left-sided centre-back within Bournemouth’s back line of four in the 2024/25 season. Within Iraola’s 4-2-3-1 structure he has played mostly with Illia Zabarnyi, who is just two years older than him. Although they are a relatively inexperienced pair, it has nonetheless been a successful partnership, with Bournemouth fighting for a European place via the Premier League. This has in part been down to the high pressing and aggressive defending that Iraola has instigated. After 32 games of the 2024/25 Premier League season, the Cherries had recorded the most defensive duels, averaging 72.42 per 90 minutes.
Iraola’s tactics have also meant Huijsen has supported the press well into the opposition half, utilising his front-footed defensive attributes. At 74.29 per cent, he had the highest percentage of successful defensive duels by any Bournemouth player with 50 or more total duels, in the 2024/25 league season. He also had the third most interceptions per 90 minutes (5.26).
Huijsen has supported the central midfield by joining aggressive counter-pressing – simultaneously tracking any movements towards the ball from the opposing front line. Closing spaces from underneath has helped reduce the distances Bournemouth’s midfield have had to recover back, giving them licence to jump higher. It has also minimised the space for a dropping opposition attacker to receive in, with Huijsen and the central midfield collapsing on the ball. With Huijsen prodding the ball away during duels and interceptions, the likes of Lewis Cook and Ryan Christie have been able to compete for loose balls, landing on the second phase and then connecting with the front line in transition. As such, Cook and Christie have benefited from Huijsen’s defensive attributes, with both midfielders in the Premier League’s top 15 for defensive duels after 32 games.
Huijsen and Zabarnyi tend to remain as close as possible when defending deeper as a pair, as both can be exposed by an explosive knock and run. By remaining close, they can overload, cover and support each other, while looking to force the ball on their outside shoulder and away from goal. But because Bournemouth’s full-backs are aggressive and often support a press, the gap between full-back and centre-back can become bigger. Therefore the double pivot dropping much deeper has helped to minimise the central space between the lines (below).
This has also added extra defensive cover around the opposition’s central attackers, allowing Huijsen and Zabarnyi to defend slightly wider when needed, with teammates supporting between and alongside. Both centre-backs can then commit to duelling, forcing the ball away from goal with purpose and control.
Iraola’s Bournemouth have helped Huijsen to thrive in his first season in the Premier League. Likewise, his performances have played a big part in Bournemouth’s impressive results. Whether he stays or goes, the club stands to benefit, whether that be on the pitch or through a big profit on the transfer fee they paid Juventus.
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