‘Agreed in principle’: Liverpool transfer target ‘finalising terms’ ahead of Club World Cup – Ben Jacobs | OneFootball

Liverpool look increasingly set to miss out on the signing of Dean Huijsen this summer.

Xabi Alonso’s impending arrival at Real Madrid, with the Bayer Leverkusen head coach set to leave his post at the end of the 2024/25 season, appears to have prompted a defensive rethink.

The Merseysiders are understood to be keen on bolstering the backline, with interest in fullbacks Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong well-documented.

Real Madrid agreed deal in principle for Dean Huijsen

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Liverpool and Arsenal were thought to be in pole position for Huijsen not long ago.

The Spain international has enjoyed an impressive opening campaign in English football after departing Juventus last year.

Unfortunately, it seems such performances have attracted the ever-wandering eye of Real Madrid. Ben Jacobs now reports on X (formerly Twitter) that the two parties are ‘finalising terms’.

The centre-back should join our outgoing right-back, Trent Alexander-Arnold, in the Spanish capital this summer.

Why are Liverpool interested?

With so much talent at 20 years of age, it’s not hard to see why Liverpool were keen on the idea of bringing in Dean Huijsen this summer.

He may be quite away from the requisite 150 senior appearances our recruitment team tends to use as a benchmark. But with 30 Premier League appearances under his belt (and counting), there’s definitely room for leeway.

A £50m clause also seems small change for a Premier League-ready defender with a host of impressive statistics.

* Dean Huijsen stats over the calendar year – FBref

Liverpool have an Ibrahima Konate situation to tend to

We’ve already got an issue of reliability as far as centre-backs are concerned.

Virgil van Dijk stands as the clear exception, but whilst Jarell Quansah has failed to impress in 2024/25, both Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez have missed 35 games between them with injury.

There’s also a separate question lingering over the Frenchman’s future, given that his contract expires next summer.

Either way, we could do with a new centre-back in the upcoming window to shore up the position.

It’s just a shame that Huijsen no longer looks like a viable option in that regard.

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