The new Premier League season is less than two weeks away and preparations are well under way for clubs up and down the country.
But with such little time before the Cherries first game against current league champions, Liverpool, fans have been concerned over how the pre-season planning has been progressing behind the scenes.
With some big-name exits in Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen, and potentially another to come, it leaves Bournemouth looking for new talent on the pitch.
What is worse is that all of these outgoings occur in the defence, which conceded the least goals ever for the club in a Premier League campaign, whilst playing a key role in Bournemouth's best season in their history.
Injury concerns also blight the South Coast club, so it begs the question whether the Cherries are ready for the new season ahead?
Key players leaving
(Photo by Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)
After such an eye-catching season for the club, attention from Europe's top clubs was almost inevitable for the Bournemouth squad, and unfortunately for the Cherries, these clubs put their money where their mouth was.
It may have been expected for months, but the transfers of Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen to Liverpool and Real Madrid, still hit the club hard.
Collectively bagging just under £100m, their exits were not done ‘on the cheap’, so finding replacements may not be difficult with regards to the finances, but may be for replacing their quality.
However, this is not the club’s only problem.
Having loaned Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea as the No.1 between the sticks last season, the Spanish ‘keeper decided to pursue a full transfer away from Bournemouth and sign for Arsenal instead.
There was hope that Kepa would stay to become the permanent first-choice goalkeeper at the club, having had a solid season but his desire to find a new home meant that the Cherries would also need to find a new goalkeeper in the pre-season.
And as if this was not enough defensive exits for one club, the rumours of Illia Zabarnyi leaving for Paris Saint-Germain have been reignited in recent days, as his transfer away from the club seems inevitable.
All four of these exits, albeit one is presumed, are players that put in top performances for the club last year, contributing to the club’s most successful season ever in their history.
In goal, Kepa offered stability and experience to a young defence.
On the left, Kerkez threatened opposition defences with his speed and movement, as well as being a fierce defender at the back.
And in the middle, the club will miss the calm collected nature of both Huijsen and Zabarnyi, and their top passing ability.
Now, the club will only be left with one of the five defensive players that made up last season’s starting XI, leading to great concern amongst the fan base as the first games looms against big-spenders Liverpool.
Lack of recruits… so far
With so many important players leaving, the club will need to find their replacement pronto, as we head into the last month of the transfer window.
As of writing, Bournemouth have managed to bag two players to replace these outgoings, in Adrien Truffert and Djordje Petrovic.
Truffert, a left back, arrives from Stade Rennes, and has impressed in the friendlies he has made an appearance in so far, looking like someone who can definitely step up on the left side to offer Bournemouth what Kerkez once did.
In Petrovic, the Cherries have a young goalkeeper with Premier League experience and coming in off the bat of a successful campaign in Ligue 1 with RC Strasbourg Alsace.
This careful transfer business offsets the exits of Kerkez and Kepa but the club have seemingly struggled to find replacements in the middle.
If pre-season friendlies are anything to go by, Andoni Iraola seems to be set on a centre back pairing of Marcos Senesi and James Hill,, both of which are very capable at this level in their positions.
But questions still remain over whether they can make the step up to the levels of quality of Huijsen and Zarbarnyi next season, so at least one big signing in this position should be expected.
So far, Bournemouth have been linked with plenty of central defenders but are yet to sign any.
If past seasons are anything to go by, signings later in the transfer window should not come as a surprise, but with pre-season coming to end, and a near-complete rebuild of defence in progress, it leaves fans cautious to dream of the heights of last season.
Pre-season injury concerns
The transfer business may be a work-in-progress for the club but there are arguably even more unwelcome news for fans amongst all the transfer talk.
Having made it through an injury crisis for much of the campaign last season, Bournemouth look set to experience one right from the start with many key players currently injured or lacking fitness.
This predominantly affects the middle of the pitch and up front, suggesting that if it is not transfers hitting preparations, injuries are.
The extent of some players’ injuries has not been disclosed by the club, however, so it is hard to get a full understanding on where the squad is at.
That being said, notable absences right now include Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie, Luis Sinisterra, and Justin Kluivert.
Cook has been ruled out for the foreseeable future with a medial knee ligament injury, with a recovery time possibly up to two months depending on severity.
Christie continues to recover from his groin issue at the end of last season, whilst Sinisterra and Kluivert are carrying ‘knocks’, so it is unknown where this puts both players ahead of the first game.
All of this combines to give Bournemouth a less-than-desirable pre-season, spreading anxiety amongst the fan base, who expected the club to build on a successful 2024-25 campaign.
But what we do know is that the Cherries find a way to dig themselves out of predicaments.
Iraola found a way during the injury crisis of last, and the club’s recruitment team continues to find top talent from around the world.
With plenty to offer, and with plenty in the bank, whilst the panic is understandable, Cherries’ fans should remember they are in safe hands and to expect the unexpected.