Given they now feel so established as a Premier League team, it’s easy to forget that even as recently as a decade ago, the Cherries had never played in the top flight before. Now they are facing another opportunity to add a new chapter of history – but also to alter their future.
Andoni Iraola’s team have impressed this term enormously: a tactically astute side making the most of a decidedly mixed top end of the table to perhaps go further than they ever have before. They almost did that last season – a 12th-place finish was the joint-second best in their history, with only one occasion in more than a century of existence seeing them finish among the ten best clubs in the land.
They very much have the chance to eclipse that this time around; with nine fixtures left in the 2024/25 campaign, they sit tenth in the congested top half just four points off fourth. Perhaps they’ll feel it would be warranted to be even higher – they have registered the third-highest total xG for the season (53.7), created the third-highest tally of big chances (88), won possession in the final third more than any other team (6.3) and put over the joint-second highest volume of accurate crosses (4.9 per 90).
Impressively, Bournemouth have not just one but two chances to write history this term: they are in the FA Cup quarter-final too, and while they face a big ask to beat Man City, if they do then the trophy is there for the taking, for themselves or for any of the other seven remaining sides.
Combative, energetic and deadly down the flanks, Iraola has structured this team into one which is equal parts technique and tenacity, while coaching individuals to get more out of them than many have managed in previous seasons. Kepa Arrizabalaga’s resurgence is a noteworthy point. Justin Kluivert has finally added consistency to his productivity. And as for the younger talents…well, more on those in a moment.
But Bournemouth have even more to aim for here across this final stretch – not just for a record finish in their history, but to potentially alter their immediate future.
Because while finishing seventh or eighth would be justifiably celebrated, it would also feasibly be…well, if not the end of the journey, then more than likely a turning point, with no guarantee the new direction would remain as forwards. After all, Iraola has done such a good job that there will inevitably be clubs hoping to lure him away and with just one year left on his contract, the Cherries might feel it’s better to take a big fee for him rather than force him to stay. But what comes after has no guarantees.
And it wouldn’t just be Iraola lured away either. Already rumours have linked Antoine Semenyo with a possible move away, while in defence, all three talents clearly have a much higher ceiling: Illya Zabarnyi (22 years old), Milos Kerkez (21) and most excitingly, Dean Huijsen (19) have all shown maturity in their game as well as quality. All three could feasibly form a defensive unit for the next half-decade, were they already in place at a bigger club.
While Bournemouth might not have to sell each of them immediately, there’s doubtless a ticking clock on one or two at least; it’s great to be at such a progressive club and playing regularly, but ultimately, there is financially only so much the Cherries can do given the current stadium capacity of just over 11,000.
So a different carrot is required, and it’s here Bournemouth must group together and hope to play their trump card for players and head coach alike: qualify for Europe.
While sometimes that might not seem an enormous deal these days, there’s a good chance it might be for at least a handful of those aforementioned names. After all, while two of that defensive trio have limited exposure to continental action – Zabarnyi at Dynamo Kyiv, Kerkez very briefly with AZ – there’s still a huge amount of progression to come in their games and getting game time in Europe will significantly aid that.
For Huijsen it would be entirely new – and so too for Iraola, clearly a coach with huge potential who will doubtless manage many games in Europe in the future, but is yet to start that part of his journey.
There is a very, very big case to make that most of those individuals would be well-served by taking initial steps into the arena outside of the spotlight that the biggest clubs operate in, gaining a year in the Europa or the Conference League before perhaps moving on to those with expectations to win one or the other whenever they’re in it. And, of course, there’s nothing to say Bournemouth themselves wouldn’t be capable of challenging for one of those trophies, if the manager and star names remained for a year.
All that has knock-on effects too: it’s possibly easier to recruit better names if you’re in Europe, probably easier to retain them, potentially giving the club more chance to stay among the contenders once they are there the first time. The reverse is also true too though – if they miss out this year and others improve next term, this opening might well be closed for several seasons to come.
They’ve never won a cup. They’ve never played in Europe. Bournemouth now have the chance to do both, and secure another shot at challenging next year into the bargain.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.