Who are the transfer targets for Bournemouth as we reach the final stages of the 2023 summer transfer window?
Pre-season favourites for relegation in the 2022/23 Premier League season, Bournemouth surprised everyone by beating the drop by some margin in the end.
Survival was effectively sealed with back-to-back wins over Southampton and Leeds in late April, but the Cherries are clearly in no mood to sit still this summer.
They’ve already sprung a surprise by dispensing with the services of manager Gary O'Neil despite survival. The club have pulled off something of a coup by convincing the highly rated Andoni Iraola to join as their manager for the 2023/24 season following a successful spell in Spain with Rayo Vallecano.
Iraola is known for positive tactics that at times involve high risks as his teams commit lots of bodies into the opposition half. He’ll be hoping to bring in players capable of adapting to his high-intensity approach, as we move beyond the summer transfer window and beyond the upcoming international break.
They have already completed some transfer business over the last couple of months with Justin Kluivert and Hamed Traore arriving in Dorset on permanent deals, whilst Tyler Adams is the latest significant acquisition at the Vitality Stadium.
Tyler Adams
Adams signed for Bournemouth for a fee in excess of £20 million, shortly after he looked set to be joining Chelsea.
The 24-year-old player already has a ton of experience under his belt. He’s a product of New York Red Bulls youth academy. Tyler made his professional debut with the Bulls’ jersey back in 2016. It didn’t take long before European teams noticed him, as he was transferred to Red Bull Leipzig in 2019, making 75 official appearances before Premier League giants Leeds United signed him.
However, his debut season in England’s top division didn’t pan out as planned, as Leeds got relegated. Adams wasn't keen on plying his trade in the EFL Championship, resulting in his second move within the space of a year.
Luring the American defensive midfielder to the south coast is a coup for the Cherries and despite an intimidating price tag, the deal was able to be completed. The Premier League side reportedly triggered Adams’ release clause on the 14th of August, as his proposed deal with the Stamford Bridge club fell through.
Other players are in sight with some of the names below representing the main Bournemouth transfer targets:
Álvaro García
It’s perhaps inevitable that Bournemouth will be linked with players from Iraola’s former club Rayo Vallecano. The small Madrid club rarely can hold onto their best players for long and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Premier League side looked to Vallecas for fresh talent this summer.
The most concrete interest appears to be in winger Álvaro García with the Rayo board already believed to be anticipating his exit. At 30 years old, Garcia would not cost a lot of money and could prove a smart budget addition for the Cherries, although any move would be complicated slightly with the player’s former club Cádiz due to receive a significant chunk of any transfer fee.
Álvaro García is a left-sided winger whose main asset is his blistering pace. He has been a key player for Iraola in La Liga over the past two seasons, contributing 12 goals and 9 assists over the period for Rayo from 68 starts overall.
Patson Daka
Patson Daka is without a doubt the best player to come out of Zimbabwe. The 24-year-old forward had a decent 2022/23 season, despite the Foxes’ relegation. In 23 Premier League appearances for Leicester last season, he scored five goals and added three assists to his tally.
Bournemouth are one of the Premier League teams who are considered frontrunners for Daka’s signature, but if coach Andoni Iraola wants to have the 24-year-old finisher by his side in the 2023/24 season, he’ll have to give Leicester a more tempting offer.
The Foxes already turned down a season-long loan offer for Patson’s services, so now, Bournemouth are considering how to approach the situation. The board believes that £25m for Patson Daka should convince the Foxes to sell, but we’ll have to wait and see how this transfer saga pans out, as Leicester can’t afford to sell all of their key players from the 2022/23 campaign if they want to get back to Premier League football.
Bournemouth have been quite busy in this transfer window with the arrivals of Max Aarons, Ionut Radu, Justin Kluivert, Romain Faivre, Milos Kerkesz, Alex Scott, Junior Traore, and Tyler Adams. Coach Andoni Iraola admitted that the team will only sign new players if others leave.
The Zambian international striker doesn't appear to have a future at the King Power Stadium, with new Foxes boss Enzo Maresca overlooking him completely, so far this term.
His speed is an asset that many teams would be grateful to have, with Bournemouth said to be monitoring the 24-year-old's situation, with Everton and Burnley also mentioned in the equation.
Che Adams
Saints’ Che Adams is another impressive talent who got relegated last season. The 27-year-old forward has enjoyed a four-year spell at St Mary’s Stadium, having made 125 official appearances for the club scoring on 27 occasions.
Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth transformation will surely continue with a new striker, as the team certainly lacked attacking punch last year. Having a player with Che Adams’ skills is something that can improve the team’s firepower this season.
On the 5th of August, coach Russell Martin said that Southampton already rejected the first bid for Adams. However, Bournemouth aren’t going to give up so easily on having Che. As a result, the men in charge offered a massive £13m offer for his services, which could still fall short of what Saints want for their player, as Adams’ current price tag is set at €20m. We’ll just have to wait and see if Bournemouth’s second offer would be considered enough.
Going into the final few days of the window, Adams is said to be attracting interest from other clubs such as Everton, Fulham and Crystal Palace, with Martin bemoaning the impact that the speculation has had on the Scotland international.
