Huijsen is here to stay
The Amsterdam-born defender is on the wishlists of many top clubs across Europe.
A last-minute injury to Iñigo Martínez gave Dean Huijsen his first call-up to the Spanish national team, giving a sense of justice to those who thought he should’ve been selected in the first place. Following his impressive performance against the Netherlands on Sunday, don’t expect him to be overlooked again.
The circumstances can only be described as a unique baptism of fire for Huijsen, as his first two senior matches for Spain were against the nation of his birth. The Dutch supporters didn’t take too kindly to the 19-year-old’s decision to represent La Roja, and they vocalised this sentiment whenever the defender was in possession of the ball.
A 2-2 draw in Feyenoord last week bred an even more exciting affair at Mestalla on Sunday, as the game finished 3-3 and was taken to extra-time. Due to an ankle injury to Pau Cubarsí in the first leg, Huijsen was promptly called into action for the second half, also forcing him to play 120 minutes in Valencia.
The moment that cemented Huijsen’s talent for Spanish supporters up and down the nation was his assist for Lamine Yamal’s goal. He received the ball in his own half and it took just a glance for him to see Yamal’s darting run behind the Dutch defence. A scintillating ball over the top was supplied to Lamine, who superbly controlled the ball and curled it impeccably to the far post.
On a night when Spain were not quite at their best, Huijsen was standing out as the source of creativity that his side were after. The teenager touched the ball 116 times, the most out of everyone, completing 90 passes (also the highest on the pitch) with a 90% pass completion. He registered seven clearances and blocked one shot too.
Don’t let the 3 goals that Spain conceded deceive you either, as no Dutchman was able to dribble past Huijsen across the two hours that were played on Sunday night, which is an astounding statistic considering the circumstances, Huijsen’s age, and the talent that the Netherlands had on the pitch.
“Dean is another great piece of news for Spanish football,” said manager Luis de la Fuente in the post-match press conference. “It simply looks like he’s been at the elite level of football for many years. He has fitted so well with our group with his skill set but also his personal values.”
Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Dani Vivian, Pau Cubarsí, Raúl Asencio, Iñigo Martínez and now Dean Huijsen are now all competing for two positions on the pitch, showing how well-stocked Spain is when it comes to the defence.
However, according to The Athletic, sources in Spain’s camp, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, admitted that it took barely a couple of training sessions before the coaching staff realised the youngster Bournemouth signed from Juventus last summer had to be given a proper chance.
“Once you earn the trust of the national manager and you prove to be a good fit for the team and the dressing room, you will hardly fall out of his radar, and Huijsen seems to have done that,” a source close to Spain’s dressing room told The Athletic.
Huijsen’s family moved from Amsterdam to Málaga when he was five and he lived there until he joined Juventus Next Gen at the age of 16. He has represented the Netherlands throughout his development, captaining them at under-19 level, but the Spanish Federation put in a lot of effort behind the scenes to help him switch his international allegiances.
“I feel Spanish, Spain is my home. If Spain doesn’t call me up, I will continue to be Spanish and if they don’t call me up in (the next) 20 years, I will continue to be Spanish. I don’t care.” - Dean Huijsen.
Were you impressed by his first performances in a Spain shirt? Do you think he deserves to be one of the starting centre-halves going forward? Let us know in the comments below.