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Bournemouth 2026/27 Season Preview: The European tour awaits

Alex Scott celebrates scoring against Brighton. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Bournemouth enter the 2026/27 campaign on the back of the most successful season in their history. Andoni Iraola's side finished in an impressive sixth place on 57 points and this earned them European qualification for the first time ever as they will play Europa League football. However, there were times during the season where some may have thought this could have been one better.

The aforementioned Iraola has since swapped Bournemouth for Merseyside as he is now in charge of Liverpool. Former Borussia Dortmund manager Marco Rose has replaced him on the South Coast.

Rose's men have enjoyed a successful pre-season with convincing wins against St Pauli and Genoa, alongside a draw with Real Betis.

The biggest challenge for the Cherries ahead of the new season will be juggling squad rotation with an increased schedule of Thursday and Sunday games.

VAVEL takes a look at what you can expect from Bournemouth ahead of the campaign under new stewardship.

The Bournemouth team celebrate after scoring against Crystal Palace. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

2025/26 as it happened

Words by - Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere

For Bournemouth, the 2025/26 campaign can be broken down into three distinct phases.

There was uncertainty for the south coast club last summer after the sale of three members of their first choice back four. A 4-2 opening day defeat to Premier League reigning champions Liverpool demonstrated that the team was not destined to drop off a cliff, and they then picked up 18 points from a possible 24. By the end of October, only Arsenal were above the team in the league table.

Defeats to Manchester City and Aston Villa brought the group back down to earth, and they failed to win another league match in 2025. Two draws with Chelsea, and a 4-4 thriller against Manchester United, indicated the camp was competitive. But European qualification seemed to be a lost dream.

Then, top scorer Antoine Semenyo set sail for City after being the matchwinner against Tottenham to stop the rot, but Bournemouth were not beaten down. The side stayed undefeated in their last 18 league matches, the longest unbeaten streak in the division last season, and their record-breaking run produced a sixth placed finish. There was no better way for Iraola to end his time at the Vitality Stadium.

Eli Junior Kroupi celebrates scoring at the Emirates. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Transfer Activity

Words by - William Fortune.

Bournemouth have been active in the transfer market this summer, seeing three new arrivals with more expected before deadline day at the end of the month.

The first player through the door was Uruguayan striker Alvaro Rodriguez from Elche for a deal in the region of £25m.

Antonio Silva came next, joining from Benfica. He will bolster the backline after three key centre halves have left in the last year in the form of Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Marcos Senesi.

Those three departures, alongside Dango Ouattara and Semenyo leaving, have meant that the Cherries have had a very much hands off approach on stars Alex Scott, Junior Kroupi, Tyler Adams and Rayan.

Juanlu Sanchez is Bournemouth's latest arrival and he will compete with Adam Smith for a spot in the starting eleven.

Others such as Luis Sinisterra and Enes Unal have left on permanent transfers, while Hamed Traore, Romain Faivre and Alex Jimenez have been sent out on loan.

Antonio Silva playing for Benfica against Braga. (Photo by Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

One to Watch - Rayan

Words by - Theo Tarling

Despite only joining the club in January, Brazilian winger Rayan made a huge impact, scoring five goals and assisting two, in order to help Bournemouth into the Europa League for the first time in their history. He had a couple of red hot streaks, scoring against Aston Villa and Everton in his first two games, before scoring a goal in each of his final three appearances of the season.

The standout moments earned him a first ever call up with Brazil in March, and subsequently a spot in their 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. It was a good tournament for him personally, recording an assist in the 3-0 win over Scotland.

He has been linked with a move to Liverpool, and a reunion with Andoni Iraola, but Bournemouth have placed him as untouchable, with a £130 million release clause becoming active in January 2027.

This season comes with a burden, particularly with Junior Kroupi out until autumn time, meaning Rayan will be expected to try and step up as Rose's side balance playing league and European football.

Rayan celebrates his goal against Everton. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Strongest XI

Words by - William Fortune.

Petrovic; Sanchez, Hill, Silva, Truffert; Adams, Scott; Tavernier, Kluivert, Rayan; Evanilson.

Former Chelsea shot stopper Djordje Petrovic will without a doubt keep his place between the sticks.

At the back, new arrival Juanlu Sanchez may take the place of veteran Adam Smith on the right of a four, while Adrien Truffert will operate on the other flank.

After breaking into the Bournemouth side last term, James Hill will also start. He has taken Marcos Senesi's number five shirt and he may be partnered by another new signing in Antonio Silva.

Adams and Scott impressed as the double pivot last season and should partner each other at the base of midfield. There has been interest in the pair this window but neither are currently expected to leave.

Marcus Tavernier will have competition for his place with Ben Gannon-Doak, who joined the club last summer and featured in Scotland's World Cup squad.

Junior Kroupi has been ruled out for the next three to four months with an injury, so Justin Kluivert may regain a spot behind the striker. The Dutchman started just ten games in the league last term.

Brazilian Rayan will start on the left of the three behind the striker. Evanilson will lead the Cherries in front of goal.

Former Bournemouth Enes Unal celebrates with Adrien Truffert and Amine Adli . (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

What are Rose's tactics

Words by - William Fortune.

Like with Iraola ball, Rose predominantly operates with a 4-2-3-1 formation and this has been seen throughout pre-season.

Rose's teams tend to be aggressive with their play and operate on the front foot.

He will once again try to instil this principle with the Cherries pressing a lot when out of possession.

During pre-season, Alex Scott has made lots of late runs into the box and he will look to do this during the season, with the side looking to commit as many bodies forward as possible to maximise output.

However, playing on the front foot obviously has its risks and Rose will be hoping his Bournemouth team do not look too exposed and teams do not play through the press.

Rose also looks to have the right and left backs attacking up the flanks, as a modern day full back is required to do so.

He has also gotten the best out of his attacking midfielders in the past, like Marco Reus and Julian Brandt. But while Kroupi is in recovery, this gives others like Justin Kluivert a chance to shine.

Marco Rose looks on. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

What can we expect this season

Words by - Matthew Shotter

After the last few Premier League campaigns, Bournemouth have mounted a reputation for overachieving. Whether that be comfortably avoiding relegation in their first season back under Gary O'Neil, or qualifying for European football for the first time last term, finishing just three points off a Champions League place.

As they enter another new era with Rose at the helm, they will almost certainly be seeking to upset the apple cart once again, and will be aiming to finish in a European place for the second season in a row.

While that will be their aim on the league front, all the talk around the Vitality Stadium is surrounding the forthcoming season of football on the continent. It is no secret that the Premier League flexes its financial superiority over its peers in both the Europa League and the Conference League, and with the Cherries competing in the former, they stand an excellent chance of going all the way. Despite the fact that there are some big-name sides in this year's edition of the competition, such as AC Milan and Juventus, they will not frighten Bournemouth.

Failing this, they will also be looking to win their first ever domestic cup and, perhaps with one or two of the bigger sides placing more of an emphasis on the league in what could be quite an open season, Rose's men may well fancy their chance of a day out at Wembley.

Bournemouth playing Tottenham away in 2017 at Wembley. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

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