AFC Bournemouth Transfers | All Signings & Outgoings, Transfer Updates & Rumours

Bournemouth, under Eddie Howe's stewardship, has secured three promotions in six years, earning a place in the top tier of English football for the first time in its history. This was achieved with a second-place finish in League Two in 2009–10, a second-place finish in League One in 2012–13 and a Championship title in 2014–15. The club remained in the Premier League for five seasons before suffering relegation in 2020, but they returned in 2022 as Championship runners-up, this time under the management of Scott Parker. The club was formed in the autumn of 1899 out of the remains of the older Boscombe St. John's Institute Football Club, and their inception in the Premier League, especially considering their scarce population, consisting of an older demographic in general. Due to their lack of stardust associated with most top clubs, they often resorted to unconventional methods like changing their name to AFC Bournemouth for the start of the 1971–72 season, in hopes that the club would appear first in alphabetical lists of English clubs. AFC Bournemouth's signings, made in good taste, are a crucial factor in this revolution at the club. Bournemouth FC's transfers are made with cost optimisation as a priority due to the club's humble beginnings.

Bournemouth Transfer Window Priorities:

There has been a ton of AFC Bournemouth transfer news circulating in the media, predicting various Bournemouth transfers occurring shortly. This comes after Bournemouth FC signings were made in abundance for the 24/25 season, with 16 signings to boost their ailing squad, including important players in the context of even next year's squad. AFC Bournemouth transfers included Dean Huijsen from Juventus, Luis Sinisterra from Leeds, Evanilson from Porto, and Julian Araujo from Barcelona, among others. Fans need to be wary of the sensationalized Bournemouth transfer rumours fueled by media outlets to make a campfire look like a wildfire. It is also important to note that AFC Bournemouth transfers strategy is not formulated on the spur of the moment; instead, it involves meticulous planning before confirming them and welcoming them as Bournemouth FC signings.

Center Back (CB)

Current Profiles at Bournemouth:

• AFC Bournemouth under Andoni Irola plays essentially in a 4-3-3 formation, which on the field appears as a 4-1-2-3 formation where the base of the midfield is anchored by a number 6 and two number 8s occupy the attacking half spaces. Since his managerial stint at Rayo Vallecano in his hometown of Spain, he has adapted an essence of total football and positional play into his unique tactics. Two fundamentals of his approach, which further govern other aspects of Bournemouth's play style, are the vertical progression of the ball and maintaining numerical superiority in the opponent's half. Bournemouth's first-half build-up is not extremely intricate but is crucial for their overall play style. Bournemouth majorly deployed two approaches, one where the keeper Kepa attempted accurate goal kicks to find the striker, and the second where the center backs played side passes, inviting the press to open up spaces for the defenders to play long balls into. These approaches are consistent with Irola's vision of players competing for second balls and latching onto deflections created by the uncertain bounce of the ball in the opponent's half. We can thus infer from the above context that center backs are a cornerstone of Irola's system, and thus, he requires niche profiles to fit into this position.
• It is important to note that Bournemouth have significantly improved their defensive structure and performance in the 2024/2025 season, with just 46 goals conceded (1.21 per match) compared to the previous season's 67 goals conceded.
• Dean Hujsen, acquired through Bournemouth FC transfers just last season, will be a sore miss for the squad after his transfer to Real Madrid. The youngster played 36 matches for the English club last season, playing the full 90 minutes in most of his matches. The youngster suited Bournemouth's play style extremely well as he instantly elevated the build-up of the team through his line-breaking passes, averaging a staggering 0.14 expected goals and assists per 90 while playing as a central defender before the arrival of his Bournemouth transfer rumours. His 1.52 progressive carries rendered the opponent press useless and allowed the advanced 8's of Bournemouth to receive passes in a more favourable position. This, combined with his 1.89 interceptions and 7.34 clearances per 90, gives a clear indication of his proactiveness in both offensive and defensive aspects of the game, which helped Bournemouth remain on top of the match's proceedings.
• Illia Zabarnyi is another talented center back in Bournemouth's ranks, unaffected by Bournemouth transfer rumours due to him being a developmental project. Despite his young age, Zabarnyi played a total of 36 matches for the club last season. The Ukrainian talent has been a part of the squad for 3 seasons, improving gradually with time and adapting to Irola's tactics, which can be seen in his progressive pass statistic of 4.05 and Progressive carry of 0.78 per 90 compared to his previous season's numbers of 2.95 and 0.65, respectively. He has also almost doubled his defensive numbers, raking 1.19 interceptions and 5.27 clearances per 90, which, although they are still premature numbers for a top Premier League defender but show the presence of essential promise.
• Marcos Senesi has been the pillar of Bournemouth's defense since joining the club in 2022. He has played 79 games for his side in the Premier League, even chipping in with 6 goals and 5 assists during this time. The defender boasts staggering numbers in the backline while also being the primary creator as well as the driving force behind his team's attacks. The defender averages 5.05 progressive passes and 0.98 progressive carries per 90, while surprisingly completing 0.49 successful take on per 90, which is a number even some wingers would envy. He is aggressive in his tackling, completing a high volume of tackles, about 3.17 per 90, which puts him in the 99th percentile bracket in the league. He also puts forth a dominating aerial front, winning 2.60 aerial duels per 90, which is decent for a bottom to lower mid table side, but requires more endeavour to enter into the elite brackets.

Required Profiles at Bournemouth:

• Bournemouth is a team that puts a lot of onus on their center backs to build up the game due to their midfield consisting of one midfielder as the pivot and two 8's occupying the attacking spaces between the center backs to create numerical superiority per defender. The defenders in Irola's system are initially tasked with baiting the press to open up central spaces, which can be used as conduits for through passes. They can also bait the press to one side of the field and then switch the ball towards the opposite flank, creating a lopsided defensive structure that can be further exploited through Bournemouth's numerical superiority in the attacking half. This illustrates how the technical abilities of a defender on the ball and anticipation off the ball are pivotal for a defender in Irola's system.
• Jhon Lacumi is a promising experienced option for Bournemouth FC transfers. The center back played 39 games last season for the Bologna side in the Italian Serie A, which is famous for its solid and compact defensive structures, resulting in an unprecedented show of pragmatic football. The defender is a progressive monster, as he helped his team significantly in the buildup last season, which is evident through his 1.20 shot-creating actions, while maintaining the team's defensive integrity through his 91.1% pass completion rate, coupled with his 3.84 progressive passes. The defender is also extremely comfortable in possession, as can be seen through his 1.15 progressive carries and 0.31 successful take-ons per 90. Lacumi would fight right into Irola's system and supply the frontline with incisive passes, while also being the perfect profile to operate in the Bournemouth midblock through his high volume tackling of 1.98 per 90. The defender needs to understand the system better and further improve his interception ability and heading, but overall, a solid, cost-effective option considering AFC Bournemouth transfers immediate requirement.

Goalkeeper (GK)

Current profiles at Bournemouth:

• Neto has been pivotal for Bournemouth since his signing from Barcelona in the 22/23 season. He has developed his stature in the Bournemouth dressing room to such an extent that he has become one of their club captains. In recent years, however, Neto has gradually been phased out of the squad, transitioning him into a third-choice keeper. He could thus still provide solid backup during unforeseen mishaps, but at 35 years of age, his physical abilities and reflexes are in decline.
• Mark Travers was signed for Bournemouth U23 in the 16/17 season for their youth side, gauging his potential promise. However, after several loan spells and sporadic game time, the keeper, who is about to hit his prime years, has confirmed the AFC Bournemouth transfer news of his move to Everton in this transfer window. Mark Travers worked as the second-choice keeper of Bournemouth for 9 seasons, playing a crucial role in their 21/22 Championship promotion campaign with 45 appearances and 20 clean sheets. In the 21/22 season, when he got his only consistent playing time, the keeper had impressive box dominance and proactiveness, which can be seen from his 1.41 defensive actions outside the penalty area, +0.24 post-shot expected goals, 6.7 % crosses claimed, and an overall save percentage of 75.9 in a game. Although the goalkeeper had a lot to improve, there was a willingness to mold himself into Bournemouth's specific requirements for the position, which are essential for any potential replacements.
• Kepa Arrizabalaga was signed by Bournemouth in 2024 after his return from a Real Madrid loan, which proved to be a shrewd piece of business as he slotted right between the Cherries' goalposts. The arrival of Kepa resulted in the displacement of all other goalkeeping options due to his suitability in Irola's system. The move worked to benefit both parties, as Bournemouth signed a fallen destiny's angel while Kepa was able to regain his confidence, playing regularly for a low-stakes team. However, the AFC Bournemouth transfer news of the Spanish National's move away to Arsenal as a second-choice option leaves the Cherries severely depleted at the back.

Required profiles at Bournemouth:

• We can take an example of Kepa Arrizabalaga's exploits with the Bournemouth squad to better understand the profile required by Bournemouth to replace the temporary keeper with someone more suited to the team dynamics. As mentioned previously, Bournemouth likes to create uncertainty in the opponent's half instead of taking the game to the opponents slowly while identifying chinks in their defensive armour. This is done through targeted long balls towards the frontline, which is already overoccupied by 5 players, two interior midfielders and the front 3, which further creates numerical superiority to make the defense uncomfortable. This proximity of a large number of players is also essential in Irola's counterpressing strategy, where he emphasizes immediate closure of space after possession loss. Sometimes, to break down low blocks, these interior midfielders can also drop deep to receive the ball to their feet, turn and open up the play for any oncoming runner into the vacated space.
• Kepa had a decent post-shot expected goals average of +0.06; however, this is an attribute commonly required within all goalkeepers. The specific requirements of Bournemouth emphasized the lowering of risk-taking by playing out from the back, which can be seen through Kepa's 6.19 goal kicks per 90, where 38.7 was the maximum length of goal kicks. In comparison to the Premier League winners' goalkeeper, i.e., Allison, Kepa completed 132 launched (>40 yards) passes to Allison's 68, while both attempted 365 and 203 passes, respectively. Some could argue vehemently that this could be a result of Kepa being a better passer; however, when we look at the short pass statistics showing Allison attempting 877 shorter length passes compared to Kepa's 831, with the latter maintaining a 33.2 launch percentage and an average pass length of 32.9 compared to the former's 19.7 launch percentage and 26.6 average length of pass. Bournemouth prefers the long-ball counter-play style, which is suited to their system. Kepa thus attempted 192 launched passes, while Allison attempted 80 of them, focusing more on the quality than quantity, from which we can infer that these passes were made based on field circumstances rather than a playstyle requirement.
• Đorđe Petrović of Chelsea can be amongst the perfect replacement AFC Bournemouth signings, playing sporadically under Enzo Maresca's reign. The above-mentioned criteria to fit the desired AFC Bournemouth signings apply perfectly to the goalkeeper, still in his developmental stage, thus being a cost-effective option. The goalkeeper recorded +0.32 post-shot expected goals, which implies that he is a high-volume shot stopper with sharp reflexes, confirmed by his save percentage of 78.9% in 31 matches played, averaging a little more than a goal a game, while playing for the highly susceptible Strasbourg. The Serbian national 53.13 touches, keeping him in the 99th percentile of Ligue 1 goalkeepers and 45.6 yards as his average length of goal kicks, which provides different aspects to explore through his keeper's play style. He is also the perfect sweeper keeper profile, considering his cross-claiming rate of 8.4% per 90 minutes, coupled with his 1.52 defensive actions outside the box, he could complement Bournemouth's mid-block perfectly. This is thus one of the necessary AFC Bournemouth signings.