Bournemouths summer transfer window: Goals and midfield control are the priorities

Publish date: 2024-06-03

Bournemouth supporters were on cloud nine when Premier League safety was confirmed, against all odds, with two games to spare. But seeing the club end their first season back among the elite with four losses on the spin, three without scoring a goal, has brought them back to reality — and the summer transfer window firmly into focus.

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While survival papered over some noticeable cracks, the coming months provide a perfect opportunity for Bournemouth to strengthen like they should have last year after winning automatic promotion.

The main theme of the club’s summer will be improvement, not just in individual areas of weakness but across the whole squad. The Premier League has now cottoned onto them and Bournemouth will no longer be underestimated as the plucky, awkward but ultimately beatable side many expected them to be this season.

Every club around them in the final league table will look to bolster their ranks before the September 1 deadline, so how can Bournemouth seek to do the same?

The Athletic previews an important transfer window at the Vitality Stadium.

Last three summer spends

Bournemouth spent nothing on transfers in the summer of 2021 as they had just been relegated back to the Championship after five straight top-flight seasons, keeping a large portion of that talented squad. They did manage an outlay of £4million a year later, on their way to being promoted as runners-up, then last summer paid out £23million in preparation for their Premier League return.

How much money is likely to be available?

This is a difficult question, but Bournemouth do have a budget set aside to attack the 2023 summer window in a way they were unable to last year when Bill Foley’s takeover was rumbling on towards a successful conclusion in the background.

The club are keen to improve the squad after a season of extracting the maximum from various players. With the increased income that comes with being a Premier League side for a second year, combined with the work their president of business operations Jim Frevola is doing to boost sponsorship revenue, Bournemouth should be able to commit a considerable sum this summer without falling foul of financial fair play regulations.

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Jefferson Lerma, Jack Stacey, Junior Stanislas and Jordan Zemura have already left the club and additional departures of fringe players will free up further space in the squad for new faces. That Bournemouth were willing and able to spend at least £50million on signings in January suggests there is an appetite for another window of significant investment now to make up for lost time. Despite a bigger budget, however, they remain committed to finding value in the market.

Lerma has already left with his contract expiring this month (Photo: Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

Who makes the key decision over signings?

There is not one person who will have final say, it is much more of a collaborative effort.

Technical director Richard Hughes works with the recruitment team to identify suitable, young, affordable players the club can sign, mould, grow and eventually sell on for a profit. Chief executive Neill Blake oversees the financial side of deals and there is communication with head coach Gary O’Neil throughout the transfer process to make sure each player of interest has a place in the squad.

Which positions are the priority?

There are a few, but Bournemouth’s biggest issue is goals. Only Southampton (36), Everton (34) and Wolves (31) scored fewer goals than their 37 in the Premier League this season. The lack of a pure scorer in the squad hurt them on multiple occasions. Central midfielder Philip Billing topped the chart with just seven goals while striker Dominic Solanke, who got six in the league, has developed into more of a creative forward.

That central midfield area also needs addressing, as Bournemouth are light there in both quality and quantity. Lerma’s departure at the end of his contract means the group can now undergo a rebuild as O’Neil, a former Premier League midfielder himself, looks to install a more patient and sustainable style. If they are to control more games next season, Bournemouth will need more of a ball-playing defensive midfielder to take Lerma’s place.

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Matias Vina is the only natural left-back in the squad after Zemura’s exit to Udinese of Italy’s Serie A. The club have a €15million (£12.9m/$16.1m at current exchange rates) option to make his loan from Roma permanent this summer but will likely assess their options to see if there is a better deal before agreeing to trigger that clause.

Stacey’s free-agent departure to Norwich City of the Championship means Bournemouth will look to strengthen at right-back as well. Adam Smith, 32, was in the starting XI for 89 per cent of their league games in 2022-23, while Ryan Fredericks and Stacey started 13 and eight per cent respectively. Fresh competition at right-back is needed if Bournemouth are to lessen their reliance on Smith next season.

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Who are known or plausible targets?

Bournemouth are admirers of Ligue 1 side Lorient’s Enzo Le Fee, and signing the 23-year-old would go some way to revamping the midfield following Lerma’s departure.

A lot of Bournemouth’s attacks this season were direct, either going long to the front line or countering at speed through wide areas. They have also needed a more controlled presence in the middle of the pitch to take the sting out of frenetic contests. The consecutive comeback defeats to Tottenham Hotspur (3-2, from 2-0 up) and Leeds United (4-3, having led 3-1) just before the World Cup break last November are the biggest evidence of a lack of control in games.

Le Fee would help remedy that issue and his connection to Bournemouth, via Foley’s minority stake in Lorient, might encourage the Frenchman to follow the path his former Stade du Moustoir team-mate Dango Ouattara took in January from Brittany, in north west France, across the English Channel to the south coast.

Bournemouth would also need a more combative, ball-winning midfielder alongside a more ball-oriented one such as Le Fee.

Reports have linked them with Atletico Madrid’s Geoffrey Kondogbia but, at 30 years of age, he is not the kind of signing Bournemouth usually make — especially in a transfer window where their options are greater than usual.

Who is an outside name to keep an eye on?

Viktor Gyokeres narrowly missed out on securing Premier League football for next season when his Coventry City side lost to Luton Town on penalties in last month’s Championship play-off final. But the 25-year-old Sweden striker looks set to make a move to a top-flight club this summer, after scoring 21 goals in the second tier last season and switching agents as recently as April.

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With just over a year left on his contract and Bournemouth being in need of an out-and-out goalscorer they can develop further, this seems like a move which aligns with the club’s approach to transfers. They have kept tabs on Gyokeres throughout the season, so do not be surprised to see him linked again in the weeks to come.

Who could be heading out?

The most likely departures will be those on the fringes, such as Jamal Lowe, who has just returned from a half-season loan back in the Championship at Queens Park Rangers. The 28-year-old was not considered a viable option for Bournemouth’s attack even when the options were thin at the beginning of the season. So now with Solanke, Ouattara, Hamed Traore, Marcus Tavernier, Jaidon Anthony and Antoine Semenyo all ahead of him in the forward-line pecking order, his chances of game time will be even slimmer.

Ben Pearson began the season in the heart of Bournemouth’s midfield under then-coach Scott Parker but will also be searching for more consistent minutes after spending the past five months on loan at Stoke City in the Championship. Emiliano Marcondes has reiterated his desire to fight for a place in the squad but is another who looks likely to leave now January’s loan back to his native Denmark with boyhood club Nordsjaelland is over.

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(Top photos: Getty Images)

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