Arsenal, Man Utd and Newcastle to BATTLE for Juventus defensive prodigy

Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle have got Roma’s on-loan Juventus centre back Dean Huijsen in their sights.

The 18-year-old defender was born in the Netherlands but has just made his Spanish under-21 international debut.

Huijsen was raised in Malaga from the age of five and played for that club’s youth academy before switching to Juventus in 2021.

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He rocketed through the youth and underage ranks for the Bianconeri and made his Serie A debut for the Turin outfit earlier this season.

Huijsen came off the bench during an Italian top-flight match against AC Milan in October and, along with fellow Juve youth sensation, the Arsenal-linked Kenan Yildiz, was subsequently promoted to the first-team squad.

Juventus agreed a new contract with Huijsen last summer with his terms now extending to 2027.

Roma want to extend Huijsen loan

It was reported that Max Allegri’s side might have offloaded Huijsen in the January transfer window amid Premier League interest but a loan deal to Roma was agreed instead for a fee of €650,000, later rounded down to €450,000.

A permanent deal for Huijsen could fetch Juve up to €30 million.

The ex-Dutch youth international has come on leaps and bounds at the Stadio Olimpico, and has even got among the goals having netted twice for the Giallorossi in Serie A.

He has come back onto the radar of a trio of Premier League clubs according to TuttoJuve although it’s believed that Roma would like to extend his loan for another season.

Arsenal, Newcastle and Man Utd have got Huijsen in their sights

Arsenal see Huijsen as a perfect squad player, according to the report, with Mikel Arteta seeking to bulk out his defensive options.

The Gunners had previously been linked with signing Torino’s Perr Schuurs, as well as Sporting CP pair Goncalo Inacio and Ousmane Diomande.

Newcastle, like Arsenal, have been linked with Inacio and Diomande and, according to the Italian outlet, have got the funds available to do a deal for Huijsen.

Rounding out the interested parties are Manchester United who will be seeking to rebuild their defence over the summer under new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS operation.

Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans are set to depart for nothing while there have been long-term question marks over the futures of both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire.