.jpg?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "California ‘butt sniffer’ is back in jail days after he was released – UK Times")
The last time Bournemouth lost a couple of key defenders in the same transfer window, the year was 2011, and Rhoys Wiggins and Jason Pearce departed for the sunnier climes of Charlton and Portsmouth.
This summer it was Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen out the exit door – with their moves to Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid bringing in a cool £150million between them.
With all due respect to messrs Wiggins and Pearce, that tells us rather a lot about how the Cherries have navigated the intervening 14 years. Their transfer fees were undisclosed, but I suspect they weren’t quite touching nine figures.
The secret to being a successful football club in 2025 – at least for those without a friendly sheikh in the boardroom – is not holding on to a core of players or producing a couple of academy gems, but recycling through them without a second thought. Buy cheap, sell high. Rinse and repeat.
Few clubs have cracked the code better than Bournemouth. And though it is a little early to declare Adrien Truffert the heir to Kerkez, or Bafode Diakite every bit as good as Zabarnyi, the early signs are very promising. And frankly, Bournemouth do not sign duds.
Truffert caught the eye even in defeat at Liverpool on the opening night, so there was plenty of anticipation around the Cherries’ new left back ahead of their clash with Wolves on Saturday. Well, happily, the Frenchman impressed again here.
This summer saw Bournemouth lost stars such as Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez move away
But Bournemouth has one of the best recruitment strategies in the Premier League – and Adrien Truffert is already impressing
The 23-year-old was a constant threat going forward and was impressive against Wolves
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Truffert looked a constant threat going forward, linking up well with Antoine Semenyo, on the left flank rather than his usual right.
The 23-year-old has already garnered a reputation for having a brilliant left foot and won a corner early on after rampaging up the left in the opening stages.
Bournemouth opened the scoring after just four minutes with a classic ‘Andoni Iraola’ high-pressing goal. Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde lost possession in his own half and Bournemouth pounced, Marcus Tavernier enjoying a slice of luck as his effort deflected off Emmanuel Agbadou.
Watch the goal closely, though, and you will notice left back Truffert hanging just behind Tavernier in the Wolves box, after making a darting run. Truffert helped block the path of defender Ki-Jana Hoever – had he not been so advanced, Hoever may well have been able to shackle Tavernier.
Attacking full backs in the Kerkez mold are vital to Iraola’s high-energy system, creating overloads and facilitating wave after wave of attacks with their side camped in the opposition’s half. ‘Adrien has been very good in both games,’ said Iraola later. ‘He’s solid defensively and offensively. He’s young but experienced and speaks English very well, which helps with his adaptation. I’m very happy with him.’
Centre back Diakite, a £34million addition from Lille, may have to wait for his contributions to be as exciting as Truffert’s. But this was a very solid first start for him at the Vitality.
The France youth international looked strong and capable on the ball, though one or two early nervy moments suggested the intensity of the Premier League might take a bit of getting used to. He ended the game with a passing accuracy of 95.7 per cent.
Bournemouth’s 1-0 win was aided by the sending off of Toti early in the second half, after he shoved over Evanilson with the Brazilian through on goal. But for a much-changed back-four to keep a clean sheet in just their second game together is still a major feather in their cap – particularly with Bournemouth’s front-foot playing style.
Bafode Diakite is another new recruit over this transfer window who the club hopes will see their value skyrocket
The mastermind at the top of Bournemouth’s transfer hierarchy is the Portuguese Tiago Pinto
One of his greatest swoops was for the talismanic Antoine Semenyo – whose value has tripled
Bournemouth were aided in their win against the visitors by a red car handed to Toti Gomes
More broadly, the Cherries are a brilliant example to other clubs in the PSR era, as sides like Newcastle and Everton continue to pay a premium on Premier League players and run up against the financial regulations. And for a team like Leicester, the lesson on the importance of cashing in on your biggest assets might have come a little too late.
Bournemouth do much of their shopping in France’s Ligue 1, where the well of talent is endless but the financial insecurity of clubs means bargains aren’t hard to come by. It helps that they have a relationship with sister club Lorient – also co-owned by Bill Foley’s Black Knight group – with whom they share a scouting network.
Tiago Pinto, a highly respected operator, holds the lofty title of ‘president of football operations’ and sits atop a recruitment structure that places a heavy emphasis on data. They have a knack of poaching top young talent from the Football League, too. The jewel in their crown is Semenyo, taken from Bristol City for £10million in 2023 and now worth six times as much.
Amine Adli, a big-money addition from Bayer Leverkusen, and Eli Kroupi, top scorer in Ligue 2 last season, made their debuts from the bench against Wolves. Hopes at the club are very high for 19-year-old Kroupi, while winger Adli had the home fans purring at times here.
Combined with a coach of Iraola’s talents, it all makes for an exciting mix. But you won’t achieve much in the Premier League without a solid foundation and judging by the win over Wolves, that’s exactly what the Cherries have.
Kerkez goes? You bring in Truffert. Zabarnyi too? We’ll have Diakite. The players depart but there is no drop-off. Bournemouth remain masters of the transfer market – and some other teams in the top flight really ought to take note.
