Around this time last year, Dean Huijsen had come to the end of a loan with AS Roma, where Juventus had sent him during the winter market. The Turin club wanted to sell the defender, and he was one of a number of youngsters they wanted out to fund moves and contracts for much older players.
Top Serie A sides don’t place the same emphasis on youth as many in the Premier League, and all of this gave Bournemouth the chance to buy Huijsen for €15-20m at the end of July.
Less than a year later and the 20-year-old is no longer a Bournemouth player, having signed for Real Madrid, and Juventus are almost certainly kicking themselves. Not only has Huijsen signed for Los Blancos but he’s now seen as a firm member of the Spain squad and is styling himself in the mould of Sergio Ramos.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper [AS](https://as.com/futbol/seleccion/aspiro-a-ser-como-sergio-ramos-n/?id_externo_rsoc=CM_ES_TW), Huijsen was asked if he’s more like Ramos or Raphael Varane, to which he said: _“I try and aspire to be like Sergio Ramos, he’s my idol.”_
Asked if after his whirlwind 12 months he’s the happiest man in the world, the defender suggested he’s of them and then talked about the original plan being to spend another campaign with the Cherries: _“I may be, really, although my father is probably even happier. My plan was to spend two years at Bournemouth, grow, and then figure out what to do next. But things have moved very quickly, faster than I expected.”_
Huijsen wore the No.2 shirt at Bournemouth, and that’s currently held by Dani Carvajal at Real Madrid so it’s unlikely he’s getting that. On his potential number, the 20-year-old said: _“At Bournemouth, No.2 was almost the only number available, and 12 is the number I have for the national team. It’s not something I’m worried about, either. We’ll see what number I wear.”_