Tottenham star ranked alongside Erling Haaland as Premier League's best, £12.6m ace says 'no one impressed me more'
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If you were to rank the likely goalscorers when Bournemouth hosted Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League earlier this month, Dean Huijsen would have ended up somewhere near the bottom
The £12.6 million summer signing from Italian giants Juventus had never found the net in a Bournemouth shirt, after all. Well, until he converted from a corner kick, securing Andoni Iraola’s side a 1-0 victory over Ange Postecoglou’s oh-so inconsistent outfit.
Tottenham, meanwhile, lined up with a front three of Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke at the Vitality Stadium.
Two widemen playing the best football of their Premier League careers, and a £65 million striker who hit the target 19 times in England’s top flight across 2024/25.
Spurs also had the luxury of bringing Heung-Min Son off the bench.
But none could break Bournemouth’s resolve. Though perhaps it would have been different had Son – who Huijsen views as the division’s stand-out attacker alongside Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland – not waited until midway through the second half before his introduction.
Bournemouth ace raves about Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son
“There is an absurd quality [in England]. The Premier League is magic,” Huijsen tells Gazzetta dello Sport. “Every weekend you can win or lose against anyone. It is a less tactical championship than Serie A, but faster, more intense.
“You find champions everywhere. But no one has impressed me more than Haaland of Manchester City and Son of Tottenham.”
The Spurs skipper celebrated his 32nd birthday in July.
And while Son may have lost a yard or two of pace, arguably the greatest Far Eastern footballer of all time still has seven goals and six assists to show from his 19 appearances across the current campaign.
Heung-Min Son broke an all-time Tottenham Hotspur record as Postecoglou’s team shredded Southampton 5-0 at St Mary’s, meanwhile. With 68, he is not the club’s greatest ever assist provider in the Premier League.
Yet, given his age, it makes sense that Spurs appear to be looking at long-term replacements.
TBR Football have been told that Tottenham are watching Borussia Dortmund wonderkid Jamie Gittens in the midst of his explosive breakout season in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund director Lars Ricken set out his stall with Gittens this week, however. He insists that, not only do Die Schwarzgelben want him to stay long term, they would also bat away offers in the region of £40 million.
"I wouldn't hang up immediately because that would not be in keeping with my character," Ricken explains. "But I would politely decline.
"We are in a challenging situation and want to develop further in terms of sport. In principle, we want to keep players of such high quality for longer. This also applies to Jamie, who has a long-term contract."
Former Juventus ace excited by Bournemouth’s ‘enormous potential’
As for Bournemouth, Iraola’s team take on Manchester United this weekend while Tottenham host Liverpool. Spurs have identified Bournemouth’s Illya Zabarnyi as a transfer target heading into 2025, meanwhile, as the Ukrainian’s centre-back partner explains how his switch to the South Coast came about.
“The sporting director Tiago Pinto had already signed me on loan to Roma last January. And, in the summer, he convinced me to join him here by explaining Bournemouth’s ambitious project,” Huijsen adds.
“I have no regrets. On the contrary, I am increasingly happier at Bournemouth. And I am not surprised by our sixth place [standing] in the Premier League.
“We have an excellent coach in Andoni Iraola and many players with enormous potential: I am thinking of [Justin] Kluivert, [Antoine] Semenyo, Zabarnyi [and Milos] Kerkez.”
