Report: Newcastle and Dortmund to compete for highly-rated 18-year-old defender this summer

Last week Newcastle United were linked with a move for Juventus defender Dean Huijsen who is currently on loan at Roma.

The links between Huijsen and Newcastle have grown stronger since they first appeared last week and it's now being reported by Dutch outlet De Telegraaf that Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund lead the way when it comes to the race for the young prospect.

The 18-year-old centre-back is likely to be sold by Juventus this summer as the club seeks to pump money back into the club to avoid sanctions. This could also ease Newcastle's path to signing Federico Chiesa who was linked again yesterday, although we maintain that he doesn't fit with the current squad without a change of tactic by Eddie Howe.

De Telegraaf claim that Huijsen is seen by Dortumund as the successor to Mats Hummels whereas Newcastle are looking for defensive cover, especially in the wake of Sven Botman's ACL surgery.

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Huijsen was called up for Spain U21s during this international break

It could be the injured Botman who could end up being a key player in Newcastle's bid for the young Dutchman, both hailing from the same country, Botman could help Huijsen settle in the area quicker.

Dean Huijsen is under contract at Juventus until 2028, but it's believed that a bid of around £26million could be enough to persuade The Old Lady to let Huijsen leave this summer.

The Dutchman who plays in Italy was on international duty this week with Spain under 21s. Don't you just love football? The 18-year-old grew up in Spain and was recently given Spanish citizenship and within weeks of changing nationality he was called up to the Spanish U21 squad.

Newcastle will hopefully be adding a couple of defenders to the ranks

Newcastle desperately needed cover in defence anyway after this season exposed the frailties in our squad.

We can't continue with Jamaal Lascelles as our only backup to Botman and Fabian Schar and now that Botman will be missing for the first half of next season, that need for fresh blood has been amplified.

With Huijsen being so young, we'd expect that he'd be one of two centre-backs coming in with another, more experienced defender also joining. Again, though, it all depends on FFP/PSR or whatever this new thing is going to be called.