‘I’ve always been pretty chilled’: Dean Huijsen on Bournemouth, defending and his celebration

Dean Huijsen’s family moved from the Netherlands to Spain when he was five, which has coloured his decision to represent the latter. Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian

He is surely one of the most exciting prospects in the game – José Mourinho said as much around this time last year – but to many Dean Huijsen is just a Chill Guy. Last month the 19-year-old celebrated his first Bournemouth goal, against Tottenham, by mimicking the popular meme of a human-like dog smirking with paws in pockets, and then did the same a couple of weeks later after opening the scoring in a resounding win at Old Trafford.

A TikTok clip of Huijsen imitating the image, posted by Bournemouth, has been viewed 11m times. “I’ve always been a pretty relaxed person, pretty chilled,” Huijsen says. “I think I am pretty calm on the ball, I make my decisions and I don’t get too panicked. I thought it would be a nice celebration but didn’t expect it to go so viral. I just thought it would be funny – I guess people liked it.”