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Transfers
Bad news for Liverpool as Chelsea ‘take the lead’ to sign £50m player Reds wanted to sign in a few days
In the summer transfer window, one of Chelsea’s biggest rivals in any race to sign a player will be Liverpool in the Premier League.
Liverpool are three points away from lifting the Premier League title and unless Arsenal go on to win the Champions League, no club in England looks like a more attractive destination for players to move to than the Reds.
But Chelsea are also not expected to accept defeat in any battles to sign players over the summer — as the Blues seemingly look to build one of the most exciting footballing projects in Europe.
Dean Huijsen has met with Chelsea and Liverpool and he is a player who both English clubs will be vying to sign in the summer — who has a £50 million release clause in his contract.
However, even Real Madrid are interested in signing Huijsen — who has quickly become one of the most sought-after centre-backs in the world since leaving Juventus in favour of a switch to AFC Bournemouth.
- READ MORE: Four options Bournemouth have looked at to replace Dean Huijsen amid Liverpool and Arsenal interest
Liverpool almost out of the race to sign Chelsea target Dean Huijsen
Huijsen is high on Chelsea’s shortlist but Liverpool boss Arne Slot intends to bolster his defence in the summer.
With Huijsen tipped to become a superstar, he could become a bedrock of both Chelsea and Liverpool’s respective backlines for the next decade — considering he turns just 21 in April.
But journalist Eduardo Burgos has revealed that Liverpool and Real Madrid are both practically out of the race to sign Dean Huijsen, making Chelsea the frontrunners for his signature: “Chelsea take the lead through Huijsen! As Fabrizio Romano points out, he’s the target for the defence. Talks are underway with his agents, Ali Barat, but nothing has been finalized yet.”
“Madrid and Liverpool are almost out of the running. The Whites don’t see the possibility of paying his release clause.
The Reds’ plan to sign Dean Huijsen before Chelsea took the lead
Liverpool’s plan to sign Huijsen as well as Chelsea’s was to strike an agreement to bring him to Anfield in the next few days.
The Spaniard is expected to stay in the Premier League, as Fabrizio Romano mentioned in his aforementioned revelation with Real Madrid now unprepared to pay £50 million towards his release clause.
But now, Enzo Maresca has the chance to work with one of the league’s best young centre-backs in Huijsen.
Levi Colwill has not had his finest of seasons, having struggled to make the step-up from Brighton to Chelsea this campaign.
Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, who tends to be his partner-in-crime at the back has suffered persistent fitness issues since his move to Stamford Bridge.
However, in Huijsen, Chelsea could now get their hands on a centre-half who rarely gets injured, has the ball-playing ability to become a vital cog in Maresca’s setup, the reading of the game to marshall their defence and the leadership to potentially become their next Thiago Silva one day — provided they win the race to sign him.