Dean Huijsen's Challenge in Real Madrid's Defence

Dean Huijsen walks into his second Real Madrid season with the weight of a number on his back and a question hanging over him: is he ready to be the man at the heart of this defence?

Tonight’s Teresa Herrera Trophy clash against Deportivo La Coruña will offer an early clue. The 21-year-old is expected to start, having shaken off the minor injury that kept him out of the trip to Austria. The stage is modest, the stakes are not. This is where he has to start looking like a first-choice centre-back, not just a promising one.

From instant impact to harsh reality

Huijsen’s Madrid story lit up quickly. He arrived just over a year ago, in June 2025, and stepped straight into the glare of the Club World Cup. Real Madrid did not take the trophy home, but the young defender walked away as one of the few bright spots in Xabi Alonso’s side, a rare positive in a disappointing campaign.

That form bled into the early weeks of La Liga. Huijsen looked fearless, sharp, and assured. Then came Madrid’s first real slump of the season, and with it, the first cracks in his game.

Confidence tipped into overconfidence. Risks that once looked bold suddenly looked reckless. Concentration slipped, and with it, his reliability. The automatic starting role disappeared. He went from revelation to rotation, forced to confront the brutal pace at which Real Madrid can turn on you when standards dip.

To his credit, he responded. The final stretch of the season brought a more mature version of Huijsen: cleaner in his decision-making, more disciplined without losing his aggression. That late surge is what he now wants to stretch across an entire campaign. At this club, half-seasons don’t make careers.

No. 4 on his back, leadership on his mind

The message from the club is clear enough. Huijsen has been handed the No. 4 shirt, a number with weight and history in Madrid’s back line. It is a statement of trust and expectation: he is not here to be a squad filler, he is here to grow into a leader.

He knows it too. He understands he is one of the club’s major defensive investments and sees himself as a future reference point in the back four.

One thing works in his favour: Jose Mourinho knows exactly who he is and what he can do. When Mourinho was at AS Roma, he personally pushed to bring Huijsen in on loan. That spell in Italy toughened him up and sped up his development before his move to the Premier League and subsequent arrival at Madrid.

Now, the Portuguese coach is in charge at the Bernabeu, and Huijsen has wasted little time making an impression. He started both training matches at Valdebebas, looking sharp and settled. A minor physical issue then ruled him out of the first official friendly against Fiorentina in Austria, briefly halting his rhythm.

He came back against Ferencvaros, playing the second half as he worked his way back to full fitness and match sharpness. The signs are promising. The margin for error is not.

Konate arrives, comfort zones disappear

The landscape around him has shifted. David Alaba has gone, and in his place Ibrahima Konate has walked through the door, raising the bar and the temperature in the centre-back group.

Konate has not come to be a backup. He has come to start.

For Huijsen, that changes everything. This season is no longer about gentle progression; it is about staking a claim before someone else takes it. Mourinho already knows his strengths and his flaws. The club has backed him with a shirt number and public confidence.

Now comes the real test: can he turn flashes of potential into week-to-week authority? Can he become the centre-back Mourinho trusts when everything is on the line?

That question hangs over him as he walks out for a pre-season trophy in August. The answer will be written in May.

Midfield in flux as United watch from a distance

While Huijsen fights for his place at the back, Real Madrid’s midfield has been the subject of a different kind of battle all summer: one fought in offices, not on the pitch.

The club spent months juggling scenarios around their existing options, a process complicated by their pursuit of high-end reinforcements like Bernardo Silva, whom they have now successfully signed. Each new name linked to the Bernabeu cast a longer shadow over the futures of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.

Both French midfielders have, at various points, been considered potential departures. That includes Tchouameni, despite being understood to have agreed a contract renewal.

According to ESPN journalist Rob Dawson, speaking on The United Stand, Manchester United are watching closely. Not with an all-out push, but with the patience of a club waiting for the right kind of opportunity.

Camavinga tested, but not yet trusted

Dawson revealed that intermediaries sounded out Premier League clubs about Camavinga before the window opened.

“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.”

That aligns with the uncertainty around his role. Camavinga wants to stay. He has never hidden that. But he has not managed to nail down an undisputed starting spot under Mourinho.

Pre-season has not shifted the debate in his favour. At 23, and despite being given chances, he has not yet imposed himself in the way a guaranteed starter does. The talent is obvious; the hierarchy is not.

Tchouameni: renewal agreed, questions remain

Tchouameni’s situation carries a different tone. Dawson suggested that the French international has agreed a new long-term deal with Real Madrid. The problem? The club have not officially announced anything.

That silence leaves a sliver of doubt and a small window for speculation. Is it a formality, or is there still room for a twist?

Manchester United are not pushing hard for either player right now, but they are ready to move if the pieces fall into place.

“I think United are looking at those two as market opportunities,” Dawson said. Any move, though, would be complex. As he explained, a deal would require more than just Madrid’s willingness to sell.

“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 said.

So United wait. Madrid decide. The market breathes.

Rodri miss keeps the door open

One thing is clear: had Real Madrid landed Rodri, the picture would look very different. His arrival would almost certainly have pushed at least one of Tchouameni or Camavinga towards the exit this summer.

They missed out. That failure now gives both Frenchmen a chance to convince Mourinho they can anchor his midfield for years to come.

Everything hinges on what Madrid do between now and the end of the window. If they move again for a holding midfielder and get their man, that “market opportunity” United are eyeing could suddenly become very real.

If they don’t, Tchouameni and Camavinga stay in the fight at the Bernabeu, Huijsen battles for his place at centre-back, and Mourinho walks into the season with a squad full of talent and tension.

Who turns that tension into a permanent place in his team will shape Madrid’s season – and maybe United’s, too.