According to reports, Chelsea are now in the lead to sign Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen after several months of Liverpool leading the charge.
Huijsen turned 20 earlier this month and yet, most of Europe’s big clubs are interested in signing him as the Cherries get set for a sale in the region of £50 million.
However, although Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move to sign Huijsen it might not be him that joins Arne Slot’s side this summer.
While Liverpool no longer need a replacement for Virgil van Dijk given that the skipper is staying following a two-year contract extension, Slot will still need a new centre-back to make sure squad depth is as it should be.
Joe Gomez has shown he isn’t fit regularly enough to be the deputy he’s needed to be and so the Reds are looking at options but they will have to act swiftly otherwise they may soon lose out on Huijsen.
Chelsea are now in the lead to sign Dean Huijsen this summer
According to a report from the Independent‘s Miguel Delaney, Chelsea have been “offered an advantage over” their Premier League rivals in the £50m race to sign Dean Huijsen.
Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle are also interested in signing the 20-year-old defender, who is seriously considering Chelsea’s interest. Real Madrid also rate Huijsen highly but are not expected to move for him this summer.
His contract includes a £50m release clause but moving to Chelsea would mean signing a seven-year contract.
There are only two reasons to pick Chelsea over Liverpool
Liverpool can offer Huijsen many things that Chelsea cannot but there are things the Blues are willing to offer that the Reds simply won’t.
The first thing that the London outfit will likely be willing to do from the outset is pay a six-figure weekly wage. Dominik Szoboszlai is the only Liverpool player under 25 making more than £100,000 per week.
At Chelsea, however, Huijsen could easily earn that much. Levi Colwill joined the Blues from Brighton and currently makes £100k/week.
The other reason is that Huijsen would have a better chance of starting at Stamford Bridge than at Anfield.
That said, he would have a good chance of winning silverware and will also be at a Champions League club which Chelsea won’t be as things stand.
