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The summer so far…

After impressively pulling Bournemouth away from the relegation zone, coach Gary O’Neil was promptly relieved of his duties. It was certainly one of the more surprising departures from the Premier League. Within hours of O’Neil’s departure Spanish coach Andoni Iraola was announced as replacement.

The former Rayo Vallecano coach had previously attracted the attention of Leeds United last January, and has been known for his attacking philosophy. Iraola inspired Vallecano to an eleventh-place finish in La Liga and crucially saw the side from the suburbs of Madrid to a mid-table finish including victories over Real Madrid and Barcelona on a significantly smaller budget than their La Liga rivals. Perhaps this is the thinking behind the appointment of the 41-year coach, more of an evolution for Bournemouth from fighting relegation to a more stable mid-table finish with more progressive attacking football. This is certainly uncharted territory for the south coast side with Iraola being their first ever foreign coach in their history.

Player to watch…

Justin Kluivert is certainly a player to keep an eye out for Cherries fans. Son of former Dutch international Patrick, the 24-year-old has signed a long-term deal after Bournemouth paid a reported £9.6m to Roma for his services.

Despite his young age, Kluivert has played at the likes of Nice, Valencia and RB Leipzig and the attacking midfielder will be hoping to emulate his father Patrick in the Premier League who enjoyed a spell with Newcastle United. Andoni Iraola will be hoping that Kluivert will be able to click with Dominic Solanke and midfielder Philip Billing who lead the way with goals for the side last season.

Kit Watch

We are big fans of this navy blue and yellow third kit. Not a colour combo you see often and that half-and-half design gives it a warm retro feel.  3.5/5.

Predicted Finish - 11^th

We are backing Bournemouth for a comfortable mid-table finish. The tactical mastery of Iraola will have Cherries fans dreaming of European football, but with a small squad and the lack of a defensive midfielder (at the time of writing) Bournemouth will fall short.