Real Madrid center-back Antonio Rudiger is undergoing knee surgery, as the club found the opportune time to take him off the pitch was after a season-ending suspension from the Copa del Rey Final.
Rudiger played through the pain in a 2024/25 season that wasn't a banner year, and he was the only healthy senior center back after Eder Militao tore his other ACL and David Alaba spent most of the season still recovering from his 2023 ACL tear. The club also let Nacho Fernandez go to Saudi Arabia last summer.
Now, Real Madrid are looking towards the future with a new-look defense. Trent Alexander-Arnold is already coming in at right back to compete with veteran Dani Carvajal, who tore his own ACL this season. But Real Madrid still need new players at left back and center back. Raul Asencio, Joan Martinez, and Jacobo Ramon comprise a trio of up-and-coming central defenders, with Raul already standing out as the team's best overall central defender in the 2024/25 season.
But Real Madrid know that they need reinforcements now, as simply waiting for world-class players like William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate join for free may never materialize - or may come too late at the expense of another season struggling in the Champions League.
Real Madrid will be going after Dean Huijsen
As such, after on-and-off speculation, MARCA's chief editor Jose Felix Diaz reports that Real Madrid are indeed interested in going after Spanish internatioanl Dean Huijsen, a breakout star for Bournemouth in the Premier League, as a summer 2025 signing.
Huijsen has substantial interest from around the Premier League, but with a release clause of 50 million pounds, Madrid only have to compete with the player himself if they want him. And right now, there is every indication that the former Juventus and Roma prospect favors a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
It has also been confirmed by the likes of Fabrizio Romano that Real Madrid are showing interest in this player.
Real's sudden interest in the talented 20-year-old is both a positive to Madridistas who are desperate for new blood in central defense and also a potential sign that Real Madrid are seeing more urgency at the position because of Rudiger's situation.
Not only did Rudiger's crazed actions cost Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey against hated rivals Barcelona, but it is also difficult to rely on Rudiger from an availability perspective. Rudiger is 32 years old and running down his contract.
The German international will be a free agent in 2026 and with his age and proneness to mistakes already, Real Madrid may not be bringing him back. They generally only do year-to-year deals with players at his age, and if they were concerned about Sergio Ramos fading in 2021, then they should have triple that concern with Rudiger, who isn't the same caliber of player that SR4 was for Madrid.
Rudiger wasn't bad this past season and played a key role for Real Madrid in 2023/24, but he is right on the part of the decline curve when what's next could be a steep drop-off. Real Madrid have to be prepared for a future without Rudiger, and Alaba's case is an example of how fast these veteran free agent signings can fall off that cliff.
Huijsen is young and coming off a sensational season in which he was arguably better than Rudiger. And if Real Madrid get a good offer from Saudi Arabia for Rudiger because of his name recognition, they shouldn't think twice about making the switch from Rudiger to Huijsen.
The reported increased interest in Huijsen is a clear sign that Real Madrid are reading the tea leaves correctly with Rudiger and preparing to make a move before it becomes obvious to other clubs that the 32-year-old defender is done and dusted (like Alaba).