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Aukland director of football on 'constant' contact with Cherries and Bkfc group

The latest team added to the group is Aukland FC, which Foley sees as a great pathway for young players.

Terry McFlynn, former Northern Irish international and now director of football at Aukland, said: “We are in constant contact with all the clubs in the group.

“We are committed to creating opportunities for players and staff across the whole group in both directions.”

One player who plays at Aukland and has come from the Cherries on loan is young keeper Alex Paulsen, who has conceded just one goal so far this season.

“Alex is a wonderful young man with huge potential,” McFlynn said.

(Image: Auckland FC) “He was the GK of the year last season in the A-League and we are delighted to be able to help him on his journey.

“We have 3 fantastic GKs at our club and it is testament to our GK coach Johnathan Gould for the talent progressing through our club.”

One of the key messages that has rung out from the hierarchy within the group is that the style of football is aligned across all the clubs.

McFlynn said that Auckland’s plan is “to play a high energy, attacking style of football”, which draws many similarities to the football Bournemouth play under Andoni Iraola.

“We are fully aligned across the Black Knight group in terms of playing styles and footballing philosophies,” he said.

“We are pretty fortunate in our position as we are a brand-new club so we can implement the strategy and systems from the outset without having any baggage or legacies to deal with.

“We are in regular contact with the staff at AFC Bournemouth. I speak with Simon Francis almost every week on all things football, from playing styles to recruitment etc.

“Our performance and analysis teams are also in constant contact with the team at Bournemouth to make sure that our processes, reports and language are aligned across the group.”

Bill Foley has shown he is willing to move players around within the Black Knight setup. Dango Ouattara moved from Lorient to Bournemouth. Emiliano Marcondes and Nathan Moriah-Welsh were sent to play for Hibernian from the Cherries, the latest player to make the switch being Paulsen.

McFlynn revealed that Auckland “haven’t explored” the option to bring more Bournemouth players to New Zealand.

“I am sure we will have more discussions and open opportunities within the group both ways.”

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