Huijsen Emerges as Key Player for Real Madrid's Defense

Real Madrid’s summer rebuild has been loud. Six new signings, a refreshed squad, and Jose Mourinho already talking up the progress. But behind the noise, one of the most delicate calls he has to make sits right at the heart of his defence.

Centre-back is loaded with names. Only one shirt is up for grabs.

Huijsen steps to the front

Ibrahima Konate has arrived to join Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao, yet it is Dean Huijsen who has quietly moved to the front of the queue for the left-sided centre-back role, according to MARCA.

For now, the path is clear: Huijsen is expected to start the season as a first-team regular.

It makes footballing sense. He is the only centre-back in the Real Madrid squad who is genuinely comfortable with both feet, not naturally chained to his right. In a Mourinho team that values structure and balance, that detail matters. A lot.

The recent friendly at the Teresa Herrera Trophy against Deportivo La Coruna felt like a statement. Given his first start under Mourinho, Huijsen did not just slot in. He took charge.

He marshalled the backline, won every duel he went into, and finished the night with seven successful defensive actions. He did not lose a single contest. Not one.

That kind of performance does more than win a pre-season trophy. It strengthens the internal belief at the club that Huijsen can grow into an undisputed starter and, in time, a pillar of the Real Madrid defence.

The weight of the number four

If his football doesn’t tell the story, his shirt number does.

With David Alaba gone, Huijsen has taken the iconic number four. At Real Madrid, that is not just a number pulled off a rail. It is a lineage.

Sergio Ramos. Fernando Hierro. Leaders, enforcers, symbols of an era.

Huijsen has not shied away from that shadow. He has walked straight into it. On social media, he made it clear what it meant to him, writing that it had always been his dream to play for Real Madrid and wear the number four, and that Sergio Ramos was his childhood idol.

That is not a casual choice. It is a declaration.

Mourinho, who has built title-winning teams around dominant central defenders before, now has a young centre-back willing to embrace the responsibility, the expectation, and the scrutiny that comes with that shirt.

The one red flag

There is, however, a problem Mourinho cannot ignore.

Huijsen’s body has not always kept pace with his ambition. His injury record disrupted his previous campaign and was serious enough to cost him a place in Spain’s World Cup squad. At his age, that is a brutal setback.

The concern has not fully gone away. Last week, he spent much of the time training alone due to discomfort, a reminder that his physical condition remains the key hurdle between promise and permanence.

So the picture is clear. On the ball, tactically, mentally, Huijsen looks ready to own that left-sided role and carry the number four into a new era. The coach trusts him, the shirt is his, the opportunity is real.

Now the season asks a simple question: can his body keep up with the player he is trying to become?