Dean Huijsen's Challenge to Become a Pillar at Real Madrid

Dean Huijsen is about to discover whether promise can harden into permanence at Real Madrid.

The 21-year-old centre-back moves into his second season in white with a clear challenge in front of him: stop being a prospect and start behaving like a pillar. That mission begins in earnest later today, when he is expected to start against Deportivo La Coruña in the Teresa Herrera Trophy, his first start since shaking off the minor injury that ruled him out of the club’s trip to Austria.

From instant impact to harsh lessons

Huijsen’s Madrid story has moved fast. It really took off just over a year ago, at the Club World Cup in June 2025. Real Madrid did not lift the trophy, but in the middle of that disappointment the young defender emerged as one of the most encouraging notes in Xabi Alonso’s side.

He carried that form into the early weeks of La Liga. Confident on the ball, aggressive in duels, he looked like he belonged.

Then the team’s results dipped. So did his level.

As Los Blancos stumbled through their first serious slump of the season, Huijsen’s performances began to swing wildly. The confidence that had made him stand out sometimes tipped into overconfidence. Concentration wavered, mistakes crept in, and the reliability that a Real Madrid centre-back needs was suddenly in doubt.

He lost his place as an automatic starter. The message was blunt: talent alone would not carry him.

To his credit, he responded. The final stretch of the campaign brought a more mature version of Huijsen – cleaner decisions, fewer risks in bad zones, better focus over 90 minutes. That late-season recovery is what he now wants to extend across an entire year.

No. 4 on his back, leadership in his sights

Inside Valdebebas, no one doubts the size of the club’s bet on him. Huijsen knows it too. He wants to grow into more than just another option; he wants to be a future leader of the Madrid defence.

The shirt on his back underlines that ambition. Wearing No. 4 at Real Madrid carries weight, and the club has handed it to him as a statement of trust.

He also has another advantage: José Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach knows Huijsen better than most. When Mourinho was at AS Roma, he personally pushed to bring the defender in on loan. That spell in Serie A accelerated Huijsen’s development and helped pave the way for his move to the Premier League and, ultimately, to Madrid.

Now Mourinho is the man calling the shots at the Bernabéu. And in this pre-season, Huijsen has made sure his name stays near the top of the manager’s list. He started both training matches at Valdebebas, staking out his territory early.

A minor physical issue then stopped him travelling to Austria for the first official friendly against Fiorentina, halting his momentum briefly. But he returned against Ferencváros, playing the second half and using those minutes to rebuild rhythm and sharpness.

Konaté arrives, comfort zone disappears

The landscape around him has changed. David Alaba has gone. In his place, Ibrahima Konaté has walked through the door, adding serious competition in the heart of defence.

Konaté’s arrival means Huijsen’s margin for error shrinks. Every training session, every friendly, every league game will now be an audition. Mourinho already knows what he can do. The club has underlined its belief by investing in him and giving him that No. 4.

Now comes the real test: can he turn flashes of brilliance into a season of reliability and convince Mourinho he belongs as a permanent fixture at the centre of Real Madrid’s back line?

The pressure is not only on Huijsen, though. It stretches right through the spine of the team, where the futures of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga continue to hover over Madrid’s summer.

Midfield in flux as United circle

Real Madrid have spent the off-season wrestling with their midfield structure. High-profile links with players such as Bernardo Silva — now successfully signed — forced the club to look hard at what they already had.

Tchouameni and Camavinga, two of the brightest French midfielders of their generation, have both been discussed internally as possible departures at different stages of the window. In Tchouameni’s case, that uncertainty has lingered despite an understood agreement over a new long-term deal that is yet to be officially announced.

That hesitation has not gone unnoticed in England.

According to ESPN journalist Rob Dawson, speaking on The United Stand, Manchester United are monitoring both players as potential “market opportunities”, ready to move if the situation at Madrid opens a door.

Camavinga sounded out

Dawson revealed that intermediaries tested the waters in the Premier League over Camavinga’s name before the window really got going.

“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,” he added.

It fits the picture around the 23-year-old. Camavinga wants to stay and make it at Madrid, but he has not yet convinced Mourinho that he deserves an undisputed starting role. Pre-season has not shifted that narrative. Despite getting chances, he has struggled to impose himself and nail down a position.

The uncertainty is not only tactical. It is also about hierarchy. With new arrivals and established stars around him, Camavinga is still fighting to prove he should be central to Mourinho’s plans rather than a rotational piece.

Tchouameni: renewal agreed, doubts remain

Dawson drew a line between Camavinga’s case and Tchouameni’s.

The French international is understood to have agreed a new long-term contract with Real Madrid. Yet the club have not confirmed anything publicly, leaving a sliver of doubt over what happens next.

Manchester United, for now, are not launching a full-scale pursuit of either player. They are waiting, watching, ready to react if Madrid’s internal decisions create an opening.

“I think United are looking at those two as market opportunities,” Dawson said.

Any move, though, comes with conditions. The players would need to genuinely want to leave the Bernabéu, not simply be pushed out. They would have to buy into United’s project and fit within the club’s wage structure. Without all of that aligned, the door stays closed.

Rodri miss keeps the battle alive

One thing has already shaped the equation. Had Real Madrid managed to sign Rodri, the domino effect would have been brutal for at least one of the French midfielders. With the Spaniard in, the likelihood of either Tchouameni or Camavinga leaving this summer would have skyrocketed.

Madrid missed out. That failure, for now, keeps the pathway open for both to convince Mourinho they belong in his core.

Everything now hinges on what the club decide between today and the end of the window. If they move again for a specialist holding midfielder, the balance shifts and a “market opportunity” for United could suddenly become very real.

If they don’t, the message is simple: survive the competition, seize your place, and make sure the next time your name comes up in transfer talks, it is because you have become too important to lose.

For Huijsen, Tchouameni and Camavinga alike, this season at Real Madrid is not just another chapter. It is the point where potential either hardens into status or drifts towards the exit door.