Spanish defender Dean Huijsen has become one of the brightest stars of José Mourinho's Real Madrid, and a player the Portuguese coach is determined to develop. He is the only player in the squad Mourinho has coached before, one whose abilities he already knew inside out.
Huijsen is cementing his place as a cornerstone of Mourinho's defence. The statistics and the performances make him indispensable.
According to "AS", Huijsen is one of the defenders who excel at defending, and a player the Portuguese coach admires.
Huijsen said after the Inter Milan match in the Champions League: "Mourinho is very interested in me, and he strongly motivates me to develop and progress, which I believe I am achieving. This is a good thing because he understands my abilities and helps me a lot, and I am happy about that".
His first season was a struggle after he arrived at only twenty. This one is different. Huijsen is proving himself early, having inherited the number 4, an iconic shirt worn before him by David Alaba and, further back, by a legend like Sergio Ramos, the man he considers a role model.
During the final stage of pre-season, as he began to grasp the demands of a coach he first worked under at Roma, Huijsen said: "I have always dreamed of this. Sergio Ramos was my idol, and for me, it is a dream to wear this number. Mourinho asks me to be a solid defender".
Against Inter, Huijsen won 4 of his 9 duels, two of them in the air. He was decisive in clearing danger too, racking up 12 clearances, more than double the tally of the next men on the list, Cucurella and Konaté.
Leading the defence in a game where he could not contribute to the attack or the passing as he had in previous matches, Huijsen still showed exactly the version Mourinho wants.
The Real Madrid coach said after the Malaga match: "I like defenders who excel at defending, and if they also have elegance and skill in dealing with the ball, that is ideal, but the most important thing is defending, and he is improving in this area. I have seen noticeable progress. His partner beside him also helps him, Konaté and Rüdiger also help".
Huijsen said after the Inter match: "Konaté is a very strong player. He is very good defensively, and good at dealing with the ball too, and he is strong, fast and tall. He is good in challenges, and I think we play well together", a nod to the man who has partnered him in four of five matches this season.
Mourinho cannot do without him in the starting line-up either. Huijsen has played all 450 minutes of the season so far, a feat matched only by him and Courtois after Mbappé was substituted in the Champions League.
Rest has been almost non-existent since his first appearance in the second half against Ferencváros in the friendly. Mourinho gave him just four minutes on the bench in the last friendly against Schalke, where he scored the second goal, before playing minute after minute, a rising star in the ranks of Mourinho and Real Madrid.
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