Huijsen, now one of Europe’s hottest properties with giants in England and Spain keen to secure his signature, was surplus to requirements under Thiago Motta.
Now that Project Motta is dead and buried, Juventus have realised their mistake of allowing transfer ins and outs to be dictated by their head coach.
Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli also has to shoulder the blame, as he was the one who hand-picked Motta from Bologna and allowed him such liberty over transfers.
Motta's costly mistakes
Despite splashing €200 million (US$226m) on bringing in players during the summer, followed by the arrival of some dubious targets in January, Motta only lasted nine months.
Numerous players that were allowed to leave, wrongly rejected, have excelled elsewhere. These include Huijsen to AFC Bournemouth, right winger Matias Soule at AS Roma and striker Moise Kean at Fiorentina.
How Juventus could have benefited this term from keeping those pivotal players in each third of the pitch will never be known.
Giuntoli is treading on thin ice in his second season of a five-year deal since joining from Napoli. He was behind installing Igor Tudor as interim head coach on a nine-match deal.
Tudor has not exactly set Juve’s style of play alight with his pressing tactics, but he has been grinding out steady results. With three Serie A matches remaining, the Bianconeri sit fourth and if they maintain that position will be involved in next season’s Champions League.
Failure to secure a top four finish and it could be curtains for both Giuntoli and Tudor.
Ambitious summer targets
Giuntoli has been ambitiously scouting some big name strikers, on the proviso that Juventus are competing in Europe’s leading club competition next term.
While at the other end of the pitch he has been steadily compiling a list of both potential young defenders as well as established players, like the Spain-based duo of Ronald Araujo and Fran Garcia.
Netherlands-born center-back Shane van Aarle, who turns 19 next month, is his latest target despite being an amateur.
Juventus are the only club to show serious interest in a player who has risen through the various ranks at FC Eindhoven, but believe that they have unearthed a raw talent that could be polished into a diamond.
Star in stripes
Van Aarle has played 17 league games this season in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, with the club sitting mid-table. He already sports stripes with the blue and white jersey of FC Eindhoven, so switching to Juve's black and white should be a breeze.
Neighboring PSV Eindhoven knocked Juve out of this season’s Champions League, and overshadow their city minnows in terms of finances and fans.
For a club the stature of Juventus to scout a player from FC Eindhoven, especially an amateur, means he appears to be something quite special.
As well as catching the attention of the Bianconeri, Van Aarle has this year earned U19 international caps. He played against Luxembourg and the Czech Republic in March’s U19 European Championships qualifiers.
Deal on the cards
Van Aarle is expected to soon put pen to paper to sign a four-year contract with Juventus, and join the club in the summer. If there’s no hiccups then he should kick off his career in Italy for the Juventus Next Gen, which is the reserve team, in Serie C.
He will be eagerly aiming to follow in the footsteps of Amsterdam-born Huijsen by rapidly becoming a shining star.
Huijsen only made his professional debut for the Juventus Next Gen in January 2023. He was sent on loan to AS Roma where he excelled, but as he only made one appearance for the Juve senior side was overlooked by Motta and sold to Premier League side Bournemouth for €15.2m (US$17.2m) last July.
At least there should be a welcome windfall, because of a sell-on clause, for Juve’s mistake when Huijsen moves on. Liverpool, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are among the clubs ready to lure the 20-year-old.