ANDONI Iraola believes Dean Huijsen produced a “really good first game” as he discussed his plans for the young centre-back.

The 19-year-old joined Cherries for £12.8million last week from Juventus, adding to the strong competition in defence at the club.

Illia Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi formed an impressive centre-back pairing last season, while Chris Mepham has proven a reliable deputy.

Cherries also have James Hill looking to force his way in, the 22-year-old coming off the bench during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano.

Huijsen started the game, playing around 70 minutes, firstly alongside Zabarnyi and then Senesi.

Assessing the former Roma loanee’s first Cherries appearance, head coach Iraola told the Daily Echo: “I think he was good on the ball.

“Probably it was not the most difficult game for him, because we were under control for most of the time.

“But I think he showed he played in the first half on the left side and the second half with Marcos on the right side.

“He can give us this versatility. He uses both feet well.

“He still has to learn a lot from our system, from things that we have to try to implement.

“And also he has to grow, because he is 19. At 19 I was not even in the second team (at Athletic Bilbao) I remember.

“It’s normal that he still has to improve, but I think it was a really good first game.”

Huijsen played 72 minutes against Rayo VallecanoHuijsen played 72 minutes against Rayo Vallecano (Image: Richard Crease)

Cherries have one more pre-season friendly, against Champions League side Girona on Saturday (5.15pm), before the Premier League campaign gets underway at Nottingham Forest on August 17.

Put to him Huijsen will be expecting the chance to get game-time, having made the move from Italian giants Juventus, and that fitting everybody in will be a near impossible task, Iraola replied: “That is what we want.

“Everyone now playing some minutes, even in pre-season, knows that if they are not good, they have another teammate that is good.

“What we want is the fight for minutes.

“I think he will give us this competition, this availability also to play on both sides.

“I think it’s a good addition.”

Amsterdam-born Huijsen, whose father Donny used to be part of Ajax’s academy, made 14 Serie A appearances last season, scoring two goals.