Dean Huijsen holds the key to what Real Madrid have missed since David Alaba's decline
Real Madrid have not held a clean sheet in either of Jose Mourinho's first two matches in his return as manager, but they won both games. And anyone who watched those matches really has to say that the goals are not the fault of the center back duo and that the new partnership of Ibrahima Konate and Dean Huijsen has quietly been one of the strengths of the team.
Konate is drawing rave reviews, already bouncing back from a poor 2025/26 Premier League season for a struggling Liverpool side to prove, once again, why he is a world class center back and has been for at least the past five years in European football between Liverpool and RB Leipzig.
But Huijsen has quietly been just as good. After a disappointing 2025/26 season of his own in his debut with Real Madrid, Huijsen has been determined throughout the summer to impress Jose Mourinho, who was looking at options like Alessandro Bastoni and Ruben Dias to replace those minutes.
Dean Huijsen is necessary to Real Madrid on the ball
The deals for big name center backs all fell through, and with Eder Militao still nursing an injury, the responsibility has fallen on Huijsen to form the duo with Konate. And he has more than risen to the occasion, looking every bit like the player Real Madrid splashed the cash on in 2025 after the Spanish international's breakout Premier League season with Bournemouth.
When Real Madrid signed Dean Huijsen, they did so envisioning him as the next great ball playing center back for the club. Real had Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao last season, but they do not have the same quality on the ball as Huijsen.
In fact, Real Madrid have badly missed an actual general who can build play up, create from the defense, and get the team out of sticky situations as an accurate and a progressive passer since the legendary David Alaba, who replaced Sergio Ramos as the No. 4 before him, suffered a torn ACL during the 2023/24 season.
Huijsen is now the one wearing the No. 4 jersey, and he is doing so with admitted aplomb, barely misplacing a pass. Jose Mourinho wanted Alessandro Bastoni, Nico Schlotterbeck, and a couple of other possible expensive center back transfer targets this summer who have a lot of quality on the ball to provide Real with that upgrade, but, now, he has every reason to believe in Huijsen as a pillar in the starting lineup who can do just that.
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