Dean Huijsen immediately broke into Xabi Alonso’s starting XI and made a stellar debut. Against Al Hilal, he was very good on the ball. The effort in defending was brilliant, and his towering presence was new but solid.
And then against Pachuca in the second match of the Club World Cup, he came out even better, especially with his passing. Despite being a centre-back, Huijsen is such a good playmaker with his line-breaking passes.
And this attribute is not new; it was a highlight of his time in the Premier League, and probably one of the reasons Real Madrid signed him.
To secure his signing from Bournemouth, Los Blancos shelled out a massive 50 million pounds. It might be the excitement within me that has declared it so early, but the Spaniard has started to justify the millions spent on him.
Dean Huijsen is telling why he is the signing Real Madrid always needed
According to OptaJoe, Dean Huijsen has started to shine for Los Blancos in just two games and has left all the players behind in some key metrics.
The statistics website states that Huijsen leads every Real Madrid player for line-breaking passes, 31 of which he has currently earned to his record.
Having 31 line-breaking passes in only two games, and that for a centre-back, is simply incredible. I am not a tall person, but I would like to believe that Huijsen’s height plays a good role in executing this.
He might see spaces on the pitch that many cannot, and he would penetrate them cunningly even before the opposing defenders would think of those coming towards them.
OptaJoe says that 11 of these 31 line-breaking passes have arrived in the final third, another metric in which he leads all Real Madrid players. Again, a gentle reminder to you that this man is a centre-back, for God’s sake.
Additionally, Huijsen leads all of his teammates in successful passes, 127 of which he has earned so far. Moreover, clearances (10), and headed clearances (6) are also brilliantly executed by the defender. All of this, he’s simply too good at.
Call me a madman, but I believe he is starting to justify to Real Madrid the worth of every penny they spent on him.