He's 18 years old and is already being linked to Real Madrid, and he's expected to be better than Dean Huijsen.

Real Madrid continues to explore the international market with the goal of identifying young talent who can become key pieces in the future. Florentino Pérez has made this strategy one of the pillars of his sports project, with a truly remarkable success rate. The evolution of Vinícius, Rodrygo, and Fede Valverde shows that betting on precocious footballers can offer extraordinary results.

In line with this planning, the club is looking to strengthen the defensive core with a center-back who can provide physicality, intelligence, and competitive range. Currently, Rüdiger and Militao form a high-level starting pair that offers guarantees in decisive matches. Meanwhile, Dean Huijsen acts as the third center-back, but his path to a starting role seems to get more complicated each matchday.

Dean Huijsen loses prominence in Real Madrid

Dean Huijsen arrived at Real Madrid last summer as a strategic move aimed at strengthening the defense with a young and powerful profile. However, his performance hasn't met expectations and he has shown certain inconsistencies typical of his maturation process. This situation has relegated him to a secondary role that could be kept even when he overcomes his current injury.

The most concerning thing for Huijsen is that his position could weaken even further if the signing Florentino Pérez desires finally arrives. The sports management wants to introduce real competition into the rotation and is looking for a footballer capable of directly challenging for the spot. That internal demand forces Huijsen to raise his performance if he wants to keep his prominence in Real Madrid.

Branimir Mlacic, the name gaining strength in Real Madrid

The footballer who convinces the club the most is Branimir Mlacic, an 18-year-old Croatian defender who plays for Hajduk Split and stands out for his tactical maturity. His ability to anticipate, his dominance in the air, and his well-measured aggressiveness have attracted the interest of several European clubs. In Valdebebas, they consider him a player with enormous room for growth and with ideal characteristics for the defensive future.

Florentino Pérez has the young Croatian well positioned on his agenda and is seriously considering making an offer in the coming months. If Mlacic lands at Bernabéu, Dean Huijsen will be the big loser because he'll lose importance within the squad and minutes of competition. The Spanish defender will have to improve considerably to ensure that his future remains tied to Real Madrid.