Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen has heaped praise on the club and their ‘great project’ that has them playing without fear.
Gianluca di Marzio have a short interview with the defender today as part of the Bournemouth documentary ‘Bournemouth, Don’t Call It Cinderella Anymore’.
The Spanish centre-back has been earning plenty of praise this season thanks to his performances for Andoni Iraola’s side so far, with the Cherries eighth in the table and competing for Europe.
He’s been a big part of that, having established himself as a key player following a move from Juventus in the summer.
And he says his performances, as well as those of his teammates, is helped by the project that Bournemouth have in place.
“There is a great project here, there are young players. Our way of playing ‘without fear’ helps us, as we throughout the year,” he said.
“I want to win everything. As a person as, I would like to be remembered as a good person.”
The pressure has been rising on Huijsen as a result of the growing attention on him, with Bournemouth fans expectant thanks to his displays so far.
There is also the added pressure thanks to constant transfer speculation, with all the big sides in Europe, Real Madrid chief among them, reportedly interested in his signature.
There is also now he expectation coming from Spain, who have moved to lock him up for the future after he elected to play for them instead of the Netherlands. Huijsen is aware of that pressure but admits he’s not particularly focused on it.
“I live my life, I simply play football,” he added.
“I don’t think much about anything else. My debut as a professional at San Siro? I didn’t feel pressure; I was just happy to fulfil my dream. In terms of football, I learned a lot from Bremer and Mancini, and on a human level from Dybala and Lukaku.”
Reports about a move to Real Madrid have been consistent for months, with the Bournemouth defender reportedly one of their key targets for the summer.
Huijsen will likely have a number of options to choose from thanks to his performances this season, but he admits he very much identifies as Spanish.
“I would say Spanish; I have a Spanish culture and a lifestyle model closer to theirs. My family, I have no connections to the Netherlands,” he concluded when asked if he’s more Dutch of Spanish.
