20-Year-Old Centre-Back is the Beginning of Xabi Alonso's Real Madrid Revolution
The new era at Real Madrid begins under the reins of Xabi Alonso, and he is ready to repair the broken pieces of the squad in the defense, midfield, and offense. The part of the team that needed the most help by far is the injury-stricken defense. 20-year-old Spanish national Dean Huijsen, who has played in the Serie A with Roma and most recently has impressed in the Premier League with Bournemouth. Huijsen falls in line with the recent strategy of Real Madrid to bring in young stars and prodigies and integrate them into the squad while turning them into world-class players. Some examples of this came with now-established players like Eduardo Camavinga and his French compatriot Aurélien Tchouaméni. Xabi Alonso has taken note of Dean Huijsen’s similarities to Real Madrid defensive legend, Sergio Ramos, and Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk.
This ambitious signing by Xabi Alonso shows his intent in rejuvenating the Real Madrid defense and squad in general with strong talent that will work under his successful tactical system that he used while coaching Bayer Leverkusen. In theory, Huijsen would likely operate in a three-man defensive line alongside Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, or another young Spanish prodigy, Raúl Asencio. This provides more defensive depth for various reasons, some fitness related and others a lack of quality in choices for the previous coach to make. Former head coach Carlo Ancelotti had to do a lot of improvising to fill in holes in his defense due to all of the injury issues that came up during Real Madrid’s unforgettable domestic and European season which they fell short of expectations in. Alonso’s new vision for Real Madrid should bring them back to the top of the Spanish and European totem pole.
With this being the first signing of Xabi Alonso’s stint as the coach of Los Blancos, the fans might wonder what other happy surprises the former Real Madrid midfielder turned head coach might bring into this squad in need of reinforcements. The fans of Los Blancos can expect at least one midfield signing to fill in the void that Luka Modrić left after Real Madrid decided to not renew his contract. There are also whispers that Real Madrid is looking to sign a striker in order to accommodate Xabi Alonso’s tactical formation. Overall Real Madrid’s revolution that is being carried out by Xabi Alonso paints an interesting and promising next season and future for the club.
