Chelsea hold same £115m hijack advantage over Liverpool in £50m race they look to have won already
Chelsea hold the same advantage over Liverpool in their race to sign Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen as they did when hijacking the Reds’ bid for Moises Caicedo two years ago.
The Reds saw Chelsea swoop to sign two players from under their noses in the summer of 2023 as their £111m bid for Caicedo was gazumped by the Blues’ £115m offer while Chelsea offered Southampton £58m for Romeo Lavia after Liverpool bid £46m.
And now it looks as though Chelsea will once again beat Liverpool to a top target this summer as they’ve reportedly jumped ahead of Arne Slot’s side, as well as Arsenal and Newcastle, in the race for the Spain international.
The Independent claimed on Wednesday that Huijsen is ‘seriously considering’ an offer from Chelsea with the Blues taking ‘a lead in the pursuit’ of the centre-back.
The report added:
‘The 19-year-old is understood to now be seriously considering Chelsea, who are one of many major clubs pursuing the centre-back.
‘The Dutch-born Spain international has a release clause of £50m, with the suitors also including Liverpool, Arsenal and Newcastle United. Real Madrid have had an interest, but are not now expected to move this summer.
‘Chelsea are willing to offer a package that could make up a seven-year contract, with Huijsen fitting their strategy of signing the most promising young players in football.
‘Such a move would form what is already set to be another busy summer for Chelsea, partly due to squad needs, and partly due to PSR.’
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The Daily Mail claim Chelsea will look to make use of the ‘exceptional’ period introduced by FIFA before the Club World Cup to secure Huijsen’s signing.
Clubs will be allowed to sell and sign players between June 1 and 10 before that first window closes ahead of the transfer window proper between June 16 and September 1.
The report also details the key role Ali Barat could play in the 20-year-old’s move to the Stamford Bridge, after the agent brokered the deal which saw Caicedo join Chelsea over Liverpool.
The report adds:
‘Bournemouth signed Huijsen in July 2024 for only £12.8m, rising to £15.3m, and Ali Barat was the agent who facilitated that transfer from Juventus.
‘Barat was also credited with brokering the deal which took Caicedo to Chelsea rather than Liverpool, alongside fellow intermediary Manuel Sierra.
‘Over the last year, Barat has worked on several other deals with the Blues, including: Nicolas Jackson’s new contract; Ian Maatsen’s move to Aston Villa; Conor Gallagher’s switch to Atletico Madrid; and Cesare Casadei to Torino.’
