Aston Villa have reportedly made an enquiry for Juventus defender Dean Huijsen ahead of a potential move to try and sign him.
The 19-year-old came through the youth ranks in Turin, but spent the second half of last season on loan at Roma where he made 14 appearances.
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In addition to his defensive duties, the centre-half scored two goals and provided an assist, while he has gained plenty of experience at youth level with the Bianconeri.
After speculation that he could perhaps be involved in the Douglas Luiz swap deal that eventually saw Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior join us, Mirko Di Natale of TuttoJuve.com has now reported that Villa have enquired about the talented youngster and that relations between the two clubs are excellent.
It remains to be seen if that develops into Villa opening talks about a potential transfer, but it does seem as though the interest is there and Huijsen may well be seen as a potential option to bolster our defence ahead of next season.
At 6ft4, the Spain U21 international is a commanding figure in the backline, while he has the quality in possession to offer something in both phases of the game.
Nevertheless, given he’s highly-rated and his current contract with Juventus runs until June 2028, it’s likely to be a difficult task to prise him away, while time will tell if Villa plan to move a current player on first in order to make space in the squad for him and to get a longer-term solution.
Speculation has linked Diego Carlos with a departure this summer, and so perhaps Huijsen is being viewed as a potential replacement if that materialises. The youngster certainly fits the bill in terms of our apparent transfer strategy now, with Villa targeting players in their early 20s who can develop under Emery and become key members of his squad moving forward.
Further, it allows us to lower our wage bill and possibly maximise the value of younger players to sell on for profit in the future, but hopefully it’s with the view of building a core of the squad that can be at the heart of our success in the coming years.