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Chelsea were the 'first big club' to try to sign Dean Huijsen this summer. The Real Madrid defender was heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge before swapping the Vitality Stadium for the Santiago Bernabeu.
football.london understands that the Blues were interested in signing Huijsen in the summer transfer window. Chelsea were joined by Liverpool in the race for the 20-year-old's signature, but Los Blancos managed to wrap up a deal in May.
Real Madrid activated the release clause in his Bournemouth contract, forking out £50m. Huijsen, who penned a five-year deal in the Spanish capital, officially joined Xabi Alonso's side at the start of June, making him available for the Club World Cup.
After missing out on the centre-half, neither Chelsea nor Liverpool managed to sign an alternative profile. The west London outfit turned their attention to Jorrel Hato, who was brought in to deputise Marc Cucurella, while the Premier League champions failed to wrap up a deal for Marc Guehi on deadline day.
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Huijsen has quickly established himself as a key player in Alonso's side, featuring in all but one of the four La Liga games this season. In an interview with Spanish newspaper AS, the young defender's agent explained how Real Madrid managed to catch the English giants off guard.
Ali Barat said: "We always thought Real Madrid would come: Dean is a fantastic player, and after the two games with the national team, Juni [Calafat] contacted us, and everything moved very quickly, honestly.
"Absolutely. When they came along, it was an easy decision: there were many clubs, but with Real Madrid, there was no doubt," added Huijsen's representative. "Chelsea wanted him, even since January.
"They were the first big club really interested. But Bournemouth didn’t want to sell in January, and his release clause wasn’t active then, only in the summer.
"And of course, after playing for the national team, we had about seven big clubs: Bayern, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle… They all wanted Dean, to be honest."
Shortly after putting pen to paper, Huijsen claimed that he only wanted to join Real Madrid. The Spain international said: "I wanted to be here from day one. Since [Real] Madrid called me, I didn't have eyes for any other team...
"I arrive at the best club in the world. I'm here to give everything, work hard, and keep being humble. Let's hope we can win a lot of trophies together, starting with the Club World Cup. Madrid is the club of my life."
On Alonso, Huijsen added: "We've spoken a bit. We spoke about what he expects of me... I think I fit in well with Xabi's football. I'll try to contribute to the team. I think I've shown that I'm ready."
Sergio Ramos helped Real Madrid beat Chelsea and Liverpool to the youngster's signature. The former Bournemouth prospect said: "He sent me a message the day [the transfer] was made official.
"He's my biggest idol, the best centre-back in history."
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