Bournemouth agree deal for Juventus defender Huijsen

Premier League side Bournemouth are closed to completing the signing of a centre-back from Italian club Juventus. 19-year-old Dean Huijsen is set to become the Cherries sixth signing of the transfer window after they agreed a £12.6 million deal with Juventus. 

Huijsen will be the latest arrival at the vitality stadium after Luis Sinisterra, Enes Unal, Alex Paulsen, Daniel Jebbison and Koby Mottoh. Luis Sinisterra was on loan at the Vitality Stadium last season but his move was made permanent before the end of last season in February. Sinisterra joined Bournemouth on loan last September and had made 17 appearances for the Cherries, scoring three goals at the time it was made permanent.

Meanwhile, Huijsen, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Roma, will have a medical with Bournemouth before the end of the weekend.

Huijsen is a Dutch-born defender who currently plays for Spain’s under-21 team. He was born in the Netherlands and featured for the Oranjes’ age group up to the Under-19 level. However, due to the fact that he moved to Spain at age five, he gained Spanish citizenship earlier this year, before making his Under-21 debut in March.

Huijsen broke out at Costa Unida, then moved to Malaga in 2015, and finally to the Italian side Juventus in 2021, although he started with the underage teams, playing for their Under-17s.

However, he made just a single appearance for Juventus last season, which was his debut against AC Milan in October. He was then shipped to AS Roma to spend the second half of last season, where he played 13 times and scored two goals.

Thomas played Arsenal on Wednesday night in the United States of America in a preseason friendly that ended in a 1-1 draw. Bournemouth will face La Liga side Rayo Vallecano next in August.