Dean Huijsen's Key Season at Real Madrid: A Defensive Challenge

Dean Huijsen is about to walk into the second season of his Real Madrid career with the weight – and opportunity – of a first-choice centre-back on his shoulders.

Later today, the 21-year-old is expected to start against Deportivo La Coruna in the Teresa Herrera Trophy, a low-key stage for what could be a very loud statement. He is over the minor injury that kept him out of the trip to Austria. Now comes the real test.

AS report that the message inside the club is simple: this is the year he has to grow again. No more half-steps.

From explosion to turbulence

Huijsen’s Madrid story really took off just over a year ago, in June 2025, at the Club World Cup. Real Madrid did not lift the trophy, but the young defender came out of the tournament as one of the brightest positives in Xabi Alonso’s side.

He carried that momentum into the early weeks of La Liga. Confident on the ball, aggressive in duels, playing as if he had been at the Bernabeu for years.

Then came Madrid’s first big dip in results. And with it, the wobble.

As the team’s form tailed off, Huijsen’s own performances began to swing wildly. His natural confidence sometimes tipped into overconfidence. Concentration slipped at key moments. The errors did not come every week, but they came often enough to cost him his status as an automatic starter.

He finished the campaign with a response, though. In the final stretch of the season he looked calmer, more measured, closer to the defender Madrid thought they were getting. That late surge is what he wants to extend into this new campaign, this time without the crash.

The No. 4 and the Mourinho factor

Inside Valdebebas, nobody is hiding what they think of him. Huijsen is seen as one of the club’s big defensive investments, a potential long-term leader of the back line.

The shirt on his back underlines it: No. 4. At Real Madrid, that number carries weight.

He also has an important ally on the bench. Jose Mourinho knows Huijsen well. When Mourinho was at AS Roma, he personally pushed to bring the defender in on loan. That spell in Serie A fast-tracked Huijsen’s development before his move to the Premier League and, eventually, Madrid.

Now Mourinho is the man in charge at the Bernabeu. And Huijsen has started pre-season strongly.

He began both training matches at Valdebebas, staking an early claim. Minor physical problems then ruled him out of the first official friendly against Fiorentina in Austria, a frustrating pause just as he was building rhythm.

He returned against Ferencvaros, coming on at half-time and using those 45 minutes to sharpen his fitness and timing. Small steps, but all pointing in the right direction.

Konate arrives, margin for error disappears

What has changed around him is the level of competition. David Alaba has gone. In his place, Ibrahima Konate has arrived at the Bernabeu to fight for the same territory Huijsen wants to own: a starting spot in the heart of defence.

That raises the stakes. The club’s faith is clear – the investment, the No. 4, the minutes in pre-season – but faith at Madrid always comes with a countdown.

Huijsen already knows exactly what Mourinho demands from his centre-backs. He has the tools. He has the manager’s trust. Now he has to turn that into something more ruthless: reliability, week after week.

This season is about proving that he is not just a promising option, but a permanent pillar in Real Madrid’s defence.

Midfield in flux as United circle Camavinga and Tchouameni

While Huijsen fights for his place at the back, the summer at Real Madrid has been dominated by a different question: what to do with a crowded, expensive midfield.

The club spent weeks juggling scenarios, partly because they were chasing big names such as Bernardo Silva, whom they ultimately managed to sign. Every potential arrival put fresh focus on the futures of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

Both French midfielders have, at various points, been viewed as possible departures. Tchouameni’s name has even floated despite him being understood to have agreed a contract renewal.

According to ESPN journalist Rob Dawson, speaking on the United Stand, Manchester United are watching both players closely as potential “market opportunities”, waiting to see if Madrid open the door.

Camavinga sounded out to England

Dawson explained that intermediaries tested the waters in the Premier League over Camavinga before the window really got going.

“United were told before the summer that Real Madrid were going to look to try and get a few players out the door,” Dawson said.

“As far as I know, Camavinga was offered to Premier League clubs by intermediaries just to gauge interest,” he added.

That tallies with the uncertainty around Camavinga’s role. The 23-year-old wants to stay at Madrid. He has never hidden that. But he has not yet nailed down an undisputed starting place under Mourinho.

His pre-season has not strengthened his case. Despite getting chances, he has struggled to truly dominate games or make himself indispensable in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Tchouameni: renewal agreed, questions remain

Tchouameni’s situation sits in a slightly different bracket.

The France international is believed to have agreed a new long-term deal with Los Blancos. Yet the club have not made any official announcement, leaving a thin layer of doubt around his medium-term future.

Manchester United are not driving hard at either player. There is no active pursuit, no formal bid. For now, they are watching and waiting.

“I think United are looking at those two as market opportunities,” Dawson said.

Any move, he stressed, would depend on a series of conditions falling into place.

“You have to be sure that they want to play for Man United, that they want to leave Real Madrid and they’re not just being forced out, you have to make sure that they fit into your wage structure,” he explained.

Rodri miss keeps the door ajar

One transfer that did not happen might be the most important of all. Had Real Madrid managed to sign Rodri, the landscape would look very different.

If the Spaniard had arrived, it would have been almost inevitable that at least one of Camavinga or Tchouameni would have had to move on this summer. The midfield would simply have been too crowded, too expensive, too stacked in the same zones.

Missing out on Rodri changes that equation. It gives both Frenchmen a fresh chance to convince Mourinho they belong at the core of his project.

What happens next hinges on Madrid’s decisions in the final weeks of the window. If they go back into the market for a specialist holding midfielder, the dominoes could start to fall – and United will be ready to pounce if a genuine opening appears.

For now, Huijsen fights for the No. 4 shirt’s legacy, Camavinga and Tchouameni fight for their place in the middle, and Real Madrid walk a tightrope between evolution and upheaval. Which of them will still be central to the story when the window finally shuts?