Dean Huijsen responds to rumours he could be set for £51m Chelsea transfer

Dean Huijsen has played down speculation that he could be set for a big-money summer move, insisting he is ‘really happy’ at Bournemouth and ‘not really thinking about’ his future.

Huijsen, 20, has enjoyed a magnificent debut season in the Premier League to cement his reputation as one of the most promising young defenders in the game.

On Saturday afternoon, Huijsen’s stock rose further still with another stellar individual performance in a 2-1 victory for Bournemouth over Arsenal, with the Spaniard finding the visitors’ equaliser in front a shellshocked Emirates crowd.

The former Juventus and Roma man will be hoping to finish the season on a high, with the eighth-placed Cherries facing Aston Villa, Manchester City and Leicester in their three remaining games of the campaign.

Elite clubs from around Europe are understood to have been monitoring Huijsen’s progress at the Vitality Stadium, with the likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea credited with a strong interest.

Stamford Bridge has emerged as the most likely destination for Huijsen in recent weeks and Bournemouth have grown increasingly resigned to losing the centre-back when the summer transfer window opens for business.

Huijsen has a £51million release clause in his contract on the south coast, which Chelsea are reportedly ready to activate before the the Club World Cup kicks off in June.

‘I think I’m pretty relaxed. I’m just a chill guy, just as my celebration is,’ Huijsen told Sky Sports when asked about the incessant transfer rumours following Bournemouth’s win over Arsenal.

‘I don’t really think about it too much. I just go to training every morning.

‘We have a great group, great staff, great everything at the club and I just enjoy my football, enjoy myself.

‘At the moment, I’m just having fun playing football and, yeah, it’s going well so I’m really happy.’

Jamie Redknapp heaped praise on Huijsen’s display against Arsenal and said the Spain international had all the necessary ingredients to be a ‘complete’ modern-day defender.

‘He is so cool, so composed, so chill, as he said,’ the former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder said in the Sky Sports studio.

‘He just makes the game look so easy and so effortless.

‘For a 20-year-old to be playing at this level and doing what he is, that’s why he’s coveted by pretty much everyone in Europe.

‘If you’re creating a footballer, the modern-day centre-back, you’ve got a bit of the influence from the Netherlands, the influence from Spain, where they come out with the ball and all the great defenders they’ve had.

‘And then you’ve got that Italian mark on it as well so the journey, the mixture that he’s got, is pretty perfect and now he’s found himself in the Premier League.

‘The elements are good, everything is right for him. You have to get all the right ingredients to be a top player.

‘He’s a complete player, this young man.’

Gael Clichy agreed with Redknapp that Huijsen’s experience in Italian football with Juventus will have been perfect for the youngster’s schooling as a defender.

‘You need to be [relaxed and confident],’ the ex-Arsenal and Manchester City full-back said.

‘His time at Juventus would have helped him, being in touch with a few players who went there at a young age.

‘There are some key factors and key attributes that you need to have and you need to be able to learn how to defend in Italy.

‘In England, maybe we’re getting there but in Italy they are proven for this so his time at Juventus would have helped him.

‘He’s a proper defender: the body language, the scanning, every touch he takes.’

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