The 20-year-old Spaniard was confirmed yesterday as a permanent AFC Bournemouth player, after the obligation to buy in his loan move was triggered, while Smith's stay at the club was extended to the end of the 2026/27 season.
Jimenez, while he has been deployed as a right winger this term, is seen as primarily a right back by boss Andoni Iraola, and Iraola has praised particularly his defensive improvements this term.
Read more on yesterday's right back news:
At the moment, it looks like Jimenez and Rayan could be set to be the first-choice right flank for the Cherries for the remainder of this season.
Alex Jimenez. (Image: Richard Crease)
And that is a right flank that is full of excitement and potential.
Nineteen-year-old Rayan has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water in his first three games, while Jimenez, although he took a few games to settle, has also impressed this term and looks like he could have taken ownership of that shirt.
Smith is a Cherries club legend and has been associated with the club since his loan spell at Dean Court in the 2010/11 campaign.
He joined the club on a permanent move in January 2014 and has made a total of 418 appearances for the team in his career.
Adam Smith (Image: Richard Crease)
But, at 34, Smith is firmly among the more senior members of the Cherries squad.
Bournemouth have brought in young right backs with promise that have been looked at as potential successors for the Englishman.
Read more:
Under Iraola, Max Aarons and Julian Araujo have arrived and played there, but neither have been able to cement their spots in the side.
Aarons made 13 starts in the 23/24 campaign in the league, starting 11 of the first 12 until a hamstring injury derailed his season.
Max Aarons (Image: Richard Crease)
Araujo joined the following season and started three of the first five games, but he lost his starting spot to Smith and then had problems with injury, too.
Aarons went on loan to Valencia for the second half of that season, as Smith, Lewis Cook and James Hill primarily filled the right back berth for the side.
Hill has been used there this season too, but is primarily a centre back, where he has started to cement his spot in the side in recent weeks.
Cook was there out of necessity with injuries, and Smith came back into the side when he returned, making 25 league appearances in total.
Across Iraola's first two seasons at the club, Smith made 44 starts, close to 60 per cent of games. This season, he has started ten of the 26, showing a changing role, and perhaps a changing of the guard at right back for the Cherries.
Julian Araujo. (Image: Richard Crease)
Where Aarons and Araujo had opportunities early on in their Cherries careers but slipped out of favour due to injuries, Jimenez has this term cemented his spot with impressive performances throughout.
The Spaniard has started 18 of the 23 games he has been available for, coming on in four of the other five and featuring in the FA Cup off the bench.
With Smith extending his stay at Dean Court for another season, and Jimenez's deal running to 2027, that provides an excellent blend of experience through Smith and excitement for the future (and the present) in Jimenez.
Smith's extension will also be key for the dressing room dynamic, as an experienced member of a very young squad, and someone who has had an association with the club since 2010, when it was in League One, before his permanent move to Dorset in 2014 in the Championship.
Both Aarons and Araujo are out on loan so their Cherries futures are not over, so they may yet return to the side and establish themselves, but for now, the shirt seems to be Jimenez’s shirt to lose.