Real Madrid pick and choose the players they sign these days. Gone are the Galactico days, where every player under the sun must join Real Madrid.
Now, they choose their battles. They analyse who to sign, when to sign them, while keeping it as economically effective as possible.
Real Madrid have signed three brilliant players this season, one of which has yet to play a single minute for the club.
Out of the other two - Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold - one has been exceptional.
Everyone knows Trent is going to be great for Real Madrid, and he has been improving bit by bit after each passing game.
Huijsen, on the other hand, has been exceptional. It is seriously scary just how good he has been for Real Madrid in just two games.
It seems like he has been around for a decade. That is the way he has been performing - like a seasoned veteran.
It reminds me of Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos. Not in the sense that Huijsen is that level of a player yet, but just that they looked so comfortable and confident when they joined. It seemed like they had been playing for ages.
That is the vibe I have been getting from Huijsen in these two matches. He is quickly making the left central defense position his own, with brilliantly timed challenges, good pressure, and more impressively, slick, pinpoint passing that is seriously problematic for the rest of Europe.
Real Madrid have a good ball-playing central defender in Raul Asencio, but Huijsen is a different breed. He has passes for days, and he has been carrying the ball towards the halfway line with so much ease and grace.
Huijsen, in just 180 minutes in white, has become a huge part of Real Madrid's build-up. It takes even top players a little bit before they grow into the player everyone knows they can be. With Huijsen, it seems like he has elevated his game as soon as he joined the club. It is ridiculous.
Obviously, keeping expectations low is key for new signings, but good God, does Huijsen make that difficult.