Reports: Juventus open contract talks with Dutch youngster Dean Huijsen

If anything, Juventus’ two friendlies over the World Cup break have given us the chance to see some of the many youngsters who have been brought into the youth setup over the past few years. Whether they are still with the primavera side or the Next Gen team, the general feeling is that Juve’s youth system is in a much better place than it has been of late.

And as has been the case in recent weeks, Juventus has made sure to try and lock down that young talent to long-term deals.

Young Dutch center back Dean Huijsen appears to be the next one up to be in line for a new deal, as Romeo Agresti of Goal Italia and Nicolo Schira have reported in recent days that Juventus have opened talks with the 17-year-old’s camp. This comes on the back of Huijsen making his unofficial senior team debut in Juve’s friendly against Croatian side Rijeka last Thursday, Dec. 22, at the Allianz Stadium.

Huijsen’s current deal with Juventus runs through 2024.

Huijsen, who signed from Malaga in the summer of 2021, had plenty of big clubs chasing him before he arrived at Juventus and still very much has big names trying to lure him away from Turin now. Some of the names that have popped up as clubs rumored to be interested in signing Huijsen include Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, the latter two confirmed by Fabrizio Romano on the day the young Dutchman faced Rijeka.

Agresti reports that there is a mutual interest between Juventus and Huijsen’s camp to find an agreement.

How long could an extension be for? According to Schira, it could be a three-year extension, pushing Huijsen’s contract through 2027.

Huijsen, who won’t turn 18 until mid-April, has played all of his minutes for Juventus’ primavera squad this season. He has scored six goals (!!) in 14 games — a span of just over 1,200 minutes — between domestic competition and the UEFA Youth League.