Bournemouth have agreed an initial €15m (£12.6m) deal with Juventus for the defender Dean Huijsen. The 19-year-old, who has played for the Netherlands and more recently Spain at youth level, could cost €18m with add-ons.
There is rival interest but Bournemouth are hopeful of winning the race for Huijsen, who made one Serie A appearance for Juventus last season before going on loan to Roma, where he played another 13 top-flight matches. He has tended to be used as a central defender.
Tiago Pinto, Bournemouth’s new president of football operations, was influential in taking Huijsen to Roma, where he was then the general manager. Huijsen, a Spain Under-21 international, fits the profile of player regularly targeted by Bournemouth.
Among their summer signings are Daniel Jebbison, a 21-year-old forward whose contract at Sheffield United had expired, and Alex Paulsen, a 22-year-old goalkeeper who is at the Olympics with New Zealand. Bournemouth hope Huijsen will be one of several more arrivals.
Their owner, Bill Foley, has said he expects Dominic Solanke to stay. The striker’s release cause is thought to be about £65m and if he moves Bournemouth have Aston Villa’s Cameron Archer among their targets.
“I believe Dom is going to be with us this coming year,” said Foley. “He has a release clause, which is very expensive. We shouldn’t reveal anything about the contract, but that area [reported £65m] sounds roughly correct.
“I guess if someone comes for him, we are going to have to replace him. We have two or three candidates that we have lined up, but I believe Dom will be here next year – and I believe he is going to score 21 or 22 goals.”
