Bournemouth may be flying high in the Premier League table right now, but our finance expert says there is something seriously wrong with their business model.
Heading into this weekend, Bournemouth sit in second place in the Premier League table with only Arsenal ahead of them.
Coming off the back of a summer where the Cherries have lost the likes of Milos Kerkez, Dean Huijsen, and Illia Zabarnyi, that’s mightily impressive.
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That success has brought attention from other clubs onto Andoni Iraola for the fine work he’s done with Bournemouth. However, what cannot be overlooked is the fact that the South Coast club seem to keep finding suitable replacements — and even upgrades, in some cases — whenever they sell their best players.
So, what’s the story behind Bournemouth’s transfer strategy? We enlisted our finance expert Adam Williams to shed some light on the situation.
A general view of the Bournemouth badge before Bournemouth vs Manchester United
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Bournemouth keep getting it right in the transfer market
Speaking to TBR Football exclusively, Williams explained how Bournemouth use data and keep their cards close to their chest in order to make smart moves in the transfer market, identifying talent that can be sold on for profit further down the line.
He said: “It might seem counterintuitive, but everything at clubs like Bournemouth is geared towards selling players. The playing style is engineered so that they can be an incubator for clubs at the very top of the food chain. Pair that with a dream of a recruitment model and it’s a magic formula.
“If I could perfectly describe how they get it so right with the players they sign, I’d bottle it and sell it. And I’d be a rich man. If a club has a particularly good recruitment strategy, part of the virtue is that – by its very nature – they have landed on something that other clubs haven’t yet. It’s all about outperforming the competition and finding value opportunities that your rivals miss. Secrecy plays a part in that.
“Everyone uses data now, so you have to be smarter through customised models, sophisticated data interpretation, integration across different departments, predictive analytics and so on. That’s not my area of expertise, but Bournemouth are clearly doing it right.”
Player Sold to Fee
Illia Zabarnyi PSG £55m
Dean Huijsen Real Madrid £55m
Milos Kerkez Liverpool £41m
Dango Ouattara Brentford £37m
Jaidon Anthony Burnley £8.3m
Philip Billing Central Jutland £4.4m
Mark Travers Everton £4m
Chris Mepham West Brom £1m
Joe Rothwell Rangers £400k
Neto Botafogo Free
Players sold by Bournemouth in 2025/26
The successful replacement of the Bournemouth defence this summer was incredible, really. Likewise, the Cherries managed to survive in the wake of Dominic Solanke’s sale to Tottenham Hotspur, and they already have plans in place to replace Antoine Semenyo, too.
This follows a similar pattern to what we saw from Brighton in recent years, where the likes of Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, and Marc Cucurella all moved on without too much of an impact on the overall squad for the Seagulls.
But, there are negative factors underlying this Bournemouth success story.
2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Five
Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images
Bill Foley’s role in Bournemouth success
Bill Foley is the wealthy owner behind Bournemouth. The American businessman has fingers in many pies, including most notably his NHL side, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. It’s this crossover of interests that Williams suggests is helping the Cherries in their expansion.
He said: “I think that the success of Foley’s NHL franchise, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, is noteworthy here too. They won their division in 2024-25 and 2022-23, taking the play-offs in the earlier of those two seasons too. It’s a different sport, but there’s a lot of cross-pollination there. It’s about how you apply the digital infrastructure you’ve built into your recruitment models in a different field.
“The multi-club vehicle that Bill Foley has set up is another brushstroke in that picture. As a side note, I think it’s going to be fascinating to see how the Hearts-Hibs dynamic develops in the Scottish Premiership now that rivalry is now effectively another frontline in the battle of the uber-smart clubs in Bournemouth and Brighton because of the ownership regimes.”
However, Williams is concerned by the sheer volume of cash Foley has had to inject into Bournemouth to keep it ticking, despite reported transfer income of around £209m this summer, plus all the Premier League benefits the club receives.
He added: “All that said, Foley has still underwritten Bournemouth’s operations to the tune £160m over the last three years of published financial results. I think that’s emblematic of the problems that English football has in its financial distribution system.
“If a club as smart as Bournemouth still need massive support from their owner to compete, something is wrong. These are the clubs that should be being rewarded. They are hamstrung to an extent by the stadium, though obviously they are planning upgrades here. Commercially, they’ve got a similar situation.
“In the last financial year, only the three clubs that were relegated had lower commercial income. There’s only so much that they can do to catch up when some clubs are earning nearly 20 times what they do through sponsorship, shirt sales and so on, and nearly 25 times what they get in gate receipts. That gives those big clubs a safety net, whereas Bournemouth have to be flawless with how they manage their budget every season.”
So, while things are looking good for Bournemouth right now, one wrong move in the market and the house of cards could well come crashing down.