17 June 2023
A defender, born in 2005, from Amsterdam, with a knack for scoring goals.
This - in a nutshell - is the identikit of Dean Huijsen, fresh from renewing his contract with Juventus off the back of an extraordinary season spent between the Juventus Primavera and Next Gen teams.
Below we tell you about it, through his impressive numbers and highlights.
THIS SEASON'S NUMBERS
The young Dutchman ended the year with 40 appearances to his name, considering both Under-19 and Next Gen matches.
The most striking statistic, however, is the number of goals scored: 10, an extraordinary total considering his position in defence.
These numbers are not surprising, however, as Dean had the 'habit' of scoring goals even in his first year at Juventus, with the Under-17s, when he scored eight goals in 20 matches under the guidance of Francesco Pedone.
Returning to this past season, his second in Bianconero, Dean made 21 appearances with the Primavera - also scoring 7 goals - divided as follows: 15 league games between the regular season and Final Phase, netting four goals in total, and six appearances in the UEFA Youth League, with three goals to his name.
Then, in the second half of the season, the step up, as Dean made his professional debut and found continuity with the Juventus Next Gen team. By the end of the season, he had made 19 appearances between the league and the Coppa Italia Serie C, contributing three goals as well, two of which were of enormous importance in the Cup semi-final return leg against Foggia.
U-19 DEBUT
It was 27 August 2022 when Dean took to the field for the first time wearing the Juventus Under-19 shirt. It was the home debut of the new season and Paolo Montero's first game in front of the Bianconeri as Primavera coach. Udinese were the opponents on the day, with Huijsen playing the entire match, and at the final whistle, he was able to rejoice with his team-mates following the four goals they had scored, with a clean sheet to boot - in short, the perfect day.
Just two league games later, Dean netted his first Bianconero goal in his side’s victory over Atalanta. Not bad for a seventeen year old, in just his second season in Italy.
NEXT GEN CALL-UP
As already mentioned, in the second half of the season, Dean trained and started playing regularly with Massimo Brambilla's Next Gen side. In December last year, he was also included in the First Team squad for two friendlies against Standard Liege and Rijeka.
His immediate impact in the Next Gen side was remarkable, as from the beginning of January to the beginning of March he was on the pitch from start to finish in every match, bar his debut against Pordenone in which he left the field just one minute from the end.
And it took him less than ten games to leave his mark, also in terms of goals. Do you remember his splendid brace in the return leg of the semi-final of the Coppa Italia Serie C? Well, those were his first two goals as a professional player!
Next Gen | Highlights Coppa Italia | Juventus - Foggia
MOST IMPORTANT MATCH
There have been several important moments and matches this year for Huijsen, but if you had to single out just one, it would undoubtedly have to be the one mentioned a few lines above. 15 February 2023 is a night Dean is sure to remember for a long time.
It was the semi-final return leg of the Coppa Italia Serie C and at the "Giuseppe Moccagatta", Foggia were confident after their 2-1 first leg win, and further rose in confidence after taking the lead just seven minutes into the second leg. It looked like another bad night for the Next Gen, at least until the 43rd minute when Huijsen found himself in the right place at the right time, finding the back of the net following a corner to re-awaken Juve's qualification dream.
A dream that became reality in the eighth minute of the second half when the young Dutchman let fly, his potent strike bulging the back of the net to hand his side the advantage on the night. His superb effort took the Bianconeri into extra time, before taking the semi-final victory on penalties with Dean once again decisive, his great personality and calmness at the end of the match a sign of the important player was, is, and continues to be in black and white.
