Richard Hughes working on first major summer signing as Fabrizio Romano reveals target's identity

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Liverpool are “really advancing” in their quest to strengthen their squad with sporting director Richard Hughes working hard on a first major summer deal and amid claims that interest in a top Bournemouth star is gathering serious pace.

The Reds have set themselves up for a dream first season under Arne Slot’s command, having opened up an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, won through to the Carabao Cup final and also established themselves as favourites to win the Champions League after winning seven of their eight group games. A last-16 tie against crack French side Paris Saint-Germain will be far from a guarantee for Liverpool, however.

The Merseysiders’ success so far this season is all the more remarkable considering Slot has opted against strengthening his squad so far; the capture of £12.5m Italy winger Federico Chiesa aside.

However, with cash in the bank and doubts surrounding a number of stars, including the likes of Darwin Nunez, Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk – the latter three who are all out of contract on July 1 – Liverpool are gearing up for what could be the most historic summer in their history amid our understanding that Slot will have a £200m bounty to spend.

Now multiple reports claim that fears over Van Dijk could lead Liverpool to step up their interest in a new central defensive signing and the name Bournemouth Dean Huijsen is appearing to gain support in the corridors of power at Anfield.

And Romano has now confirmed the Spain Under-21 defender is a firm target, with a Liverpool decision over a move for a new centre-half very much gathering pace.

“I can confirm once again to you that Liverpool are really, really advancing in the process to identify the centre-back they want to sign in the summer,” Romano told his YouTube channel. “Liverpool will go for an important centre-back.”

“In an internal meeting they had with Richard Hughes, with people on the board involved and Arne Slot too, they all agreed on bringing in an important centre-back in the summer transfer window.

“When I say important, it could be an important talent, it could be an established player,” Romano adds. “But my information is that Liverpool want to invest in young players for present and future, so this could be the view.

“Let’s see what happens, we know their position on [Dean] Huijsen. Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern and Newcastle are all keen on signing him. There will be many clubs in the race.

“Liverpool are also monitoring other players, actively working on the new centre-back, working to identify who is the player they really, really want to bring in.”

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Liverpool interest in Dean Huijsen confirmed by sources

Romano’s update on Huijsen to Liverpool comes a number of days after our transfer insider Fraser Fletcher also namechecked the towering 6ft 5in star as a confirmed Reds target.

And per our sources, Liverpool’s prospects of a deal are enhanced by the fact that his Cherries deal does contain an exit clause that presents the Reds with a perfect opportunity to prise him away from Andoni Iraola’s side after just one season.

Understandably, Bournemouth are looking to reward the player with a new deal as a reward for his outstanding performances this season that have left the Cherries in with a chance of bringing European football to the Vitality next season.

Any new contract, though, would look to seriously increase the buy-out clause in his deal.

On the subject of new arrivals, Slot has admitted planning for the summer window is already underway, though refused to disclose exactly what positions they would try and strengthen in.

“We are looking at every single position and we are looking at the team, and I think we’ve said this many times, last summer, we didn’t do a lot because we, Richard, me and all the other people involved, just wanted to know how these players were working with me,” Slot told a press conference last week.

“Now we have a very good idea about that. I’m not going to tell you which positions we prefer, but it is clear that we’ve assessed the squad, we’ve assessed what we think where we can improve, and that’s where we try to go for in the summer.”

Latest Liverpool transfer news: Norway prospect wanted; fans call for Isak

If Liverpool are to go down the route of signing outstanding prospects, they could do no worse than target a deal for Norwegian midfield prospect Sverre Nypan, with a report revealing how the Reds are trying to convince him to snub a move to Arsenal.

The Reds are also expected to strengthen in attack this summer, especially amid growing claims that Nunez is likely to be on his way this summer should a suitable offer come in.

We understand that one man Slot and Co are keen on is Alexander Isak and, while a deal would be incredibly tough to pull off and could cost a new British transfer record, a wave of Liverpool fans have called for FSG to dig deep and fund a move for a striker seen as an ideal fit for their system.

A new right-back could also be high on the wanted list – particularly if Alexander-Arnold finalise a move to Real Madrid. Several names have been linked with a move to Anfield as a result, but strong reports in Brazil over the weekend have suggested a 21-year-old Flamengo star now tops their wanted list, with the cost of a deal also coming to light.

IN-FOCUS: The rise of Dean Huijsen

By Samuel Bannister

➡️ Huijsen was born in Amsterdam in April 2005.

➡️ His family relocated to Spain in 2010 and he played for Costa Unida CF de Marbella.

➡️ Malaga signed him for their academy in 2015.

➡️ Juventus signed him in 2021, initially to play for their U17 team.

➡️ In January 2023, he was promoted to Juventus’ Next Gen (U23) team, enabling him to play among professionals in Serie C.

➡️ Huijsen earned his senior debut for Juventus in October 2023, coming on as a substitute in a Serie A game.

➡️ Roma took Huijsen on loan in January 2024 at the express wish of Jose Mourinho (who was sacked that same month).

➡️ He scored his first Serie A goal in February 2024 – and then another later that month after carrying the ball out from defence and shooting from distance.

➡️ In March 2024, he committed his international future to Spain, being called up to their U21 team.

➡️ He made his last appearance for Roma in April 2024 and was an unused sub in their last five Serie A games of the season.

➡️ Bournemouth bought Huijsen from Juventus in the summer of 2024.

➡️ He made his Premier League debut in the first game of the season, lasting all 90 minutes against Nottingham Forest.

➡️ He headed in his first goal for Bournemouth in December 2024 after returning to the starting lineup – which he has consistently remained in ever since.

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