Manchester United to step up interest in signing 19-year-old Premier League breakout star wanted by Real Madrid: Reports

Manchester United are reportedly keen to add Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, who has been linked with Real Madrid since last year, to their ranks.

Huijsen, 19, has emerged as one of the breakout stars in the Premier League this season since joining Bournemouth from Juventus in a potential £15 million deal last July. The Spaniard has scored two goals in 15 overall outings for his club.

Due to his key role in Bournemouth's recent rise in form, Real Madrid are reportedly aiming to snap up Hujisen in the near future. Los Merengues are currently on the hunt for a new centre-back following Eder Militao's season-ending injury.

Now, according to Italian news website TUTTOmercatoWEB, Manchester United are interested in signing Huijsen in the ongoing winter transfer window. However, they will likely face difficult competition from La Liga champions Real Madrid.

Huijsen, who has a contract until June 2030 at the Cherries, started his career at Costa Unida before moving to Malaga's academy in 2015. He secured a switch to Juventus' youth ranks in 2021 and just made one appearance for them.

Ex-Manchester United striker hits out at former team for not signing former Real Madrid target

Speaking on the Football's Greatest podcast, ex-Red Devils striker Teddy Sheringham shared his two cents on his former club's recent recruitment. He said (h/t Metro):

"They've spent so much money on good players and good players are good, but when you're talking about Manchester United, you need top players. Over the last two years, Harry Kane and Declan Rice both became available. Top players, lead by example, proven players week in, week out, great professional players and they were nowhere near signing them."

Sheringham, who played for United between 1997 and 2001, continued:

"They let Harry go to Bayern Munich, they weren't in the frame to get Arsenal away from signing Declan Rice. When those top players became available in Sir Alex Ferguson's years, he went out and bought them... Gary Pallister, Roy Keane, Paul Ince, Wayne Rooney, he went out and got these top players."

Urging the Red Devils to sign elite players in the future, he concluded:

"He [Ferguson] said, 'You're coming to play for me now, you ain't going anywhere else in the country, you're coming to play for Manchester United because you're one of the best', but it's not happening now. They've got to get back on that road of signing top players who lead by example."

Harry Kane, who was linked with Real Madrid in 2023, has scored 64 goals and contributed 21 assists in just 65 overall matches for Bayern Munich.

Declan Rice, on the other hand, has recorded nine goals and 15 assists in 76 matches across competitions for Arsenal since the summer of 2023.