AFC Bournemouth will look to seize the momentum created from a historic 2023-24 season when their latest campaign begins under ambitious manager Andoni Iraola.
The club, now owned by American multi-sport investor Bill Foley and with cash to burn following the £65 million sale of Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur, are at a fascinating point in their history before the new Premier League season begins.
They will need to find a new star player, whether in their current ranks or bought from outside, but under Iraola their performances have been solid regardless of individual output.
With a huge amount to prove as they pursue Foley’s much-publicised target of European football, the Cherries have a huge season in store, as the VAVEL team assesses below.
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Season recap
Written by Marissa Langthorne
Bournemouth’s 2023-24 season started in rocky fashion, with Iraola’s team only gaining three points in nine games and going winless as questions began to build.
However, after ending the season in 12th place with 48 points, few fans could complain about Iraola’s first season in charge.
The Cherries’ first win came at home against Burnley on October 28.
The 2-1 comeback win came with goals from Antoine Semenyo and Philip Billing, finally lifting Bournemouth from the relegation zone and placing Burnley into it.
As the season reached December, fans finally saw why Bournemouth brought in Iraola as they had a seven-game unbeaten run, gaining 19 points before a 3-1 loss against Tottenham on New Year’s Eve.
As Bournemouth reached the New Year, a top-half finish was in sight. Two games to be mentioned from the season occurred during the seven-game unbeaten streak, with a 3-0 away win against Manchester United with Dominic Solanke scoring in the fifth minute.
Furthermore, in the next gameweek, Solanke's comeback hat trick secured a late 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest.
Solanke’s streak continued, scoring 19 goals in the Premier League season to become Bournemouth’s record single-season scorer in the top division.
With a 12th-place finish in the 2023/24 season, the result created hope for Iroala’s team going forward to achieve a top-half finish.
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The transfer window so far
In pursuit of the promised land of top-half Premier League football, Bournemouth have been involved in several discussions and movements this summer to improve their squad.
Having only been promoted back to the Premier League three seasons ago, inevitably some of the squad remain at Championship standard, and the difference this summer has been to cut the deadwood and clear room for some more ambitious signings.
As such, Bournemouth’s business between manager Iraola and the transfer team of Neill Blake, Simon Francis and Tiago Pinto has been very closely watched.
Incomings
At the time of writing, the Cherries are yet to splash the cash from Solanke’s transfer but will be looking to get a deal over the line for a replacement forward in advance of their opening fixture against Nottingham Forest.
The club got two deals wrapped up early when Enes Ünal’s transfer from Getafe was made permanent and young goalkeeper Alex Paulsen was signed from Wellington Phoenix, with the pair expected to be understudies for starters in their positions this season.
Then came the signings of Daniel Jebbison, who was at the end of his contract at Sheffield United, and the window’s marquee signing, Dean Huijsen from Juventus.
With Paulsen 22 years of age, Jebbison 21 and Huijsen aged 19, the profile of players Bournemouth have been targeting is clear.
This trio have tremendous promise and represent a good start to the club’s transfer activity, although the more important moves are yet to be made.
Outgoings
In terms of their senior squad, the Cherries have refrained from wielding the axe too heavily this summer.
Kieffer Moore left in the opposite direction of Jebbison, heading to Bramall Lane, while several players left at the end of their contracts; Lloyd Kelly the big departure to Newcastle United, while Ryan Fredericks, Jamal Lowe, Emiliano Marcondes and Darren Randolph were all let go.
Joe Rothwell has also been loaned to Leeds United, while Paulsen has been sent to Foley’s A-League expansion club Auckland FC for the 2024-25 season.
Written by Josh Miller
As for Bournemouth’s strongest XI, it will, of course, depend on who is fit and any new faces coming through the door before September.
That being said, the team should not change too much from last season.
Goalkeeper
Norberto Neto remains the standout choice between the posts and is also club captain, so do not expect any surprises here.
Defenders
In central defence, the partnership of Illia Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi seems likely to start, despite Dean Huijsen impressing with his performances in pre-season.
On the left, Milos Kerkez is expected to keep his place, while on the right, Max Aarons should start if fit, although Adam Smith is a solid alternative if Aarons is not fit.
Midfielders
The midfield is expected to stay largely consistent, with Lewis Cook and Ryan Christie providing stability.
Justin Kluivert will play a more advanced role, just above these two in the middle.
Alex Scott is another name to watch, as his potential and pre-season form suggest he could push for a starting spot over Cook or Christie.
On the flanks, Luis Sinisterra on the left and Antoine Semenyo on the right are likely to retain their positions after strong pre-season showings.
Forwards
With Solanke's exit, Ünal seems poised to step up as the main striker.
However, concerns over his injury history might prompt the club to seek additional firepower.
Daniel Jebbison’s promising displays have also drawn comparisons to a certain former fan favourite, so he could do a job in the first few games.
Entering his second season at the Vitality Stadium, Iraola will know that a fine second half of the 2023-24 season will have led to increased expectations of him.
The former Spain international re-energised a side that could have easily lost momentum following the departure of predecessor Gary O’Neil, and his elite-level experience served him well when Bournemouth reached crunch stages in their season.
After a tough start, he made the Cherries harder to beat, initially by getting Solanke firing and additional weapons like Kluivert, Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier buzzing around him.
The performances of his midfield pair, Cook and Christie, drew praise from across the footballing community, while the defensive pair of Zabarnyi and Senesi did incredibly well in their first full season together.
There has been little indication that Iraola is set to divert from his favoured 4-2-3-1 system going forward, and this can be both a source of strength and weakness for the Cherries.
Bournemouth regularly punished teams with high defensive lines when Solanke offered such a terrorising presence in attack, and those around him knew their roles perfectly.
The direction that the Basque manager needs to go down now is to recruit a striker who can replicate or improve Solanke’s output, or change his system entirely.
Initial signs in friendlies do not indicate the latter, although, with goalscoring forwards in such demand in the global market, it will not be easy to secure a value-for-money replacement.
Expect Iraola to tinker at the start of the season and simmer on the touchline if things do not go his way, but if the side do secure an effective signing, remember to give the Spaniard praise when his smile returns.
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Is there room for Alex Scott in the starting XI?
Written by Josh Miller
After making his big move from Bristol City last season for £23 million, Alex Scott has somewhat struggled to keep a place in the starting XI.
It is worth noting that injuries did blight him most of last season but the performances of Cook and Christie in the middle made it impossible for them both to be dropped, despite Scott’s obvious talent.
This talent has been seen in pre-season, with the Guernsey-born youngster starting every pre-season friendly game, showing his quality and comfort playing in that deeper midfield position.
At times last season, fans often discussed whether Scott should be moved further forward or sit above the central defenders.
From the look of pre-season, Iraola looks happy with Scott playing in the deeper role, where he can pick up the ball from defenders, turn and initiate attacks.
With Cook not expected to be match-fit for Bournemouth’s first game against Forest and Tyler Adams out for a few months, the door is ajar for Scott.
It remains to be seen if Iraola has found Scott’s best position and role in the team, but the signs look promising based on pre-season performances.
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Can Solanke’s goals be replaced?
Written by Josh Miller
To the expectation of many Bournemouth fans, the club could not hold onto Solanke after he finished joint-fourth in the 2023-24 Premier League goalscoring charts.
Solanke’s performances were magnificent, proving what people had predicted from such a young age that there was a top striker to be made of the man.
But despite proving good news for Solanke and Tottenham, the striker’s departure is a problem for Bournemouth.
So, the question of ‘who is going to score the goals’ has started to fill discussions amongst Cherries’ fans.
Last season, the second-highest goalscorer of the club was Semenyo – with eight goals – and Justin Kluivert, just behind him with seven goals.
With Solanke’s absence, goals must come from elsewhere in the team and players will have to step up to produce moments of brilliance that their former teammate did with ease.
Ünal is the obvious choice to start up front currently and has shown promising signs that he could become Bournemouth’s next top striker, scoring a few times last season despite injury problems.
But rumours are also rife about buying an immediate replacement.
Currently, the club are linked to multiple strikers from England and Europe, so fans will have to trust that the club hierarchy uses the money smartly to bring in a suitable replacement.
Bournemouth will undoubtedly miss Solanke but the current squad of players know what needs to happen, so it is on them to step up and deliver.
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Expected finish - 12th
Written by Josh Miller
Predicting where Bournemouth are going to finish this coming season is a rather tricky task.
Bournemouth impressed fans last season, including their own, with some silky, attacking football played at a fast pace, helping deliver some eye-catching results against Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton.
Last season, Bournemouth were one of people’s relegation favourites.
But will they be favourites for a third successive season? In short, no.
Many have Bournemouth finishing in the bottom half and right in the middle, in 15th place, so the Cherries could be in for an awkward campaign.
With Solanke’s recent departure, Bournemouth will miss not only his goals but presence up front, which could lead to the club struggling to score goals, whilst being liberal in handing the opposition a couple.
However, whilst this will be a huge loss, the squad looks settled and Iraola found a formula to get the best out of these players last season, especially when they sat on three points after the first nine games last season.
Consequently, another season sitting in 12th is likely and should not be a surprise.
The competition to get into the top ten looks as tough as ever but Bournemouth are better than five to six teams in the Premier League.
Add in a few surprise results and a few more goals from other areas of the team and Bournemouth should land themselves a respectable mid-table finish.
