His 16-year playing career was mainly spent with Athletic Bilbao, where he came through the youth system, but Iraola also spent a season with New York City FC.
Boot in both camps
Palace’s current No. 8 Jefferson Lerma spent five years on the south coast before joining the Eagles in 2023.
Eagles captain Joel Ward is also a Bournemouth alumnus, having spent a season on loan there, which saw the Cherries start on -17 points in League Two, yet still survive relegation.
Current full-back Nathaniel Clyne, former defender Gary Cahill and promotion hero Glenn Murray have also represented both clubs.
Record against Palace
Since our first Premier League meeting in December 2015 the record between the two sides has remained fairly even.
The Cherries did come out on top in our two meetings last season. However, in eight games between August 2016 and June 2020, Palace only lost to Bournemouth once, recording four victories.
The last of these was our first game in project restart as football returned in the first UK Covid-19 lockdown – coincidentally it also became match to be broadcast live on the BBC since 1988.