Ornstein confirms Liverpool ‘meeting’ for superb £50m signing with 25y/o Red under threat

Liverpool chiefs have met with the entourage of Bournemouth star Dean Huijsen as they try to beat a host of other top clubs to his signing, with David Ornstein also providing an intriguing update on Real Madrid’s pursuit.

Huijsen arrived in England last summer when Bournemouth paid £15million to sign him from Juventus. The centre-back has enjoyed an exceptional first season in the Premier League and his transfer value has skyrocketed as a result.

Huijsen has made 29 appearances in all competitions so far and has put in a host of classy displays to help Bournemouth compete for European qualification.

Huijsen has a £50million (€58m / $65m) release clause in his contract and it is almost guaranteed that he will leave the Cherries this summer.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Real Madrid are among the clubs who have been tracking the 19-year-old in recent months.

In his latest Q&A for The Athletic, Ornstein has revealed fresh talks as Liverpool try to win the chase for Huijsen.

Arne Slot’s side will face intense competition to complete a deal, though Madrid do appear to be falling behind.

“I now understand that Liverpool are among the clubs with a firm interest in Dean Huijsen,” the journalist said. “This has been reported elsewhere and is accurate. Chelsea have enquired and Arsenal are in the mix, too.

“At the moment, those are perhaps the three leading contenders but not the only ones, with Newcastle and Tottenham also keen. I believe they have all held meetings or conversations with Huijsen’s camp in the last week but I’m not aware of offers being made just yet, so the direction of travel remains unclear.

“It has been well documented that Real Madrid held great appeal for Huijsen growing up and they do like him, but I don’t know of them actively working on it and therefore — at the time of writing — it looks most probable he will join another Premier League club.

“I think there’s a desire on the part of Bournemouth and the player to have this situation decided asap. The £50m release clause makes it a clean and potentially quick deal to do, which we’ve seen Liverpool capitalise on in the past.”

Ornstein went on to suggest that Huijsen could end up replacing 25-year-old defender Ibrahima Konate in Slot’s starting lineup.

“Maybe their consideration is influenced by the lack of developments so far on Ibrahima Konate’s contract situation and you imagine Huijsen would have a good chance of starting alongside Virgil van Dijk if he was signed,” the transfer guru added. “I guess Chelsea could say the same about starting beside [Levi] Colwill, while you imagine similar amounts of game time would come his way at Newcastle and Tottenham.

“Arsenal is a bit trickier with [William] Saliba and Gabriel in situ for now, but if [Jakub] Kiwior was to be sold you could envisage Huijsen playing a lot as part of their centre-back unit and, from what I hear, Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta are huge fans of the Spain international.

“I’m not sure about other names in relation to Liverpool at the moment but suddenly from everyone wanting a left centre-back, it’s currently the right side they’re all focusing on. In general terms (I don’t know about Liverpool), Marc Guehi will definitely be one to watch and Trevoh Chalobah as well.”

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Liverpool keen on Bournemouth trio

Ornstein’s update confirms TEAMtalk’s report from March 12 which revealed that Liverpool are intensifying their efforts to bring Huijsen to Anfield.

We understand that Bayern Munich are also in the frame, though they will have to move strongly to prise him away from the riches of the Premier League.

Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, is hoping to use his relationship with the Bournemouth hierarchy to win the chase for Huijsen. He worked at Bournemouth for 10 years before joining Liverpool last summer.

Liverpool could enter talks over a triple raid on Bournemouth, as they are also big admirers of Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo.

Liverpool news: Agent talks up second Madrid raid; new Luis Diaz price

Meanwhile, the agent of a Liverpool star has claimed he is ‘good enough’ for Madrid as Los Blancos also prepare for the arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

“But Liverpool would ask for a lot of money,” the representative added.

Barcelona are long-term admirers of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz but are reportedly set to withdraw from the race amid a hefty new price tag.

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