Dean Huijsen returns to Rome on a Champions League night carrying the weight of a far larger role than the one he left behind. The Real Madrid defender will step back into the Stadio Olimpico, the ground where a six-month loan at 18 helped turn an overlooked Juventus prospect into one of Europe’s most expensive centre-backs.
Rome was the making of Huijsen
Huijsen joined Roma on 6 January 2024, leaving Turin after limited opportunities at Juventus. José Mourinho had specifically wanted the young defender, identifying a player who could strengthen his back line despite his lack of senior minutes in Italy.
- Roma took Huijsen on loan without an option to buy, paying roughly €500,000.
- He made 14 appearances during his spell in the Italian capital.
- The defender contributed two goals and one assist.
- He regularly started alongside Gianluca Mancini and also featured in a defensive rotation including Diego Llorente and Rasmus Kristensen.
Those performances made him visible across the market. Bournemouth paid €22 million for him the following summer, and Huijsen’s rise accelerated quickly in England, where he made 36 appearances before Madrid came calling.
His route to Rome had already crossed several footballing identities. Born in Amsterdam, Huijsen moved with his family to Marbella at the age of five and has consistently said he feels Spanish rather than Dutch. He developed in Málaga’s academy before joining Juventus at 16, and has spoken of a wish to finish his playing career with Málaga one day.
A record Madrid fee and a response to adversity
Real Madrid signed Huijsen for €58 million the following summer, making him the most expensive defender in the club’s history. The deal surpassed the fee paid for Éder Militão and placed an immediate burden on a player still early in his career.
His first Madrid campaign did not fully meet expectations. After beginning strongly, he lost momentum and eventually his place to Militão. That disappointment has fed into his determination this season, when he had been among Madrid’s more reliable performers before the derby at the Metropolitano.
In that match, Huijsen was sent off after allowing an opponent to get beyond him and then bringing the player down as the last defender. The dismissal ruled him out of the league meeting with Villarreal, leaving this European fixture as his first opportunity to return.
Champions League return with Konaté
Huijsen is expected to resume his central-defensive partnership with Konaté at the Olimpico, while Madrid wait for Militão’s situation to develop. The longer-term selection question can wait; the immediate task is a European tie at the stadium that altered Huijsen’s trajectory.
Mourinho, now back at Real Madrid after returning in the summer, has continued to rate Huijsen highly. The coach saw elite potential in him during their Roma spell, and that faith remains part of the defender’s story as he prepares for his return to the Eternal City.
- Huijsen arrived in Rome as a Juventus teenager in need of minutes.
- He departed after six influential months as a proven senior defender.
- Bournemouth provided the next platform, before Madrid paid a club-record defensive fee.
- Now he returns to the Olimpico in the Champions League, seeking to put the Metropolitano setback behind him.
For Huijsen, the occasion is more than a reunion with a former club. Rome was the place where his career began to move at speed; Madrid now need him to show, on the European stage, how much he has grown since then.
