Transfer failings could cut short Bournemouth's Premier League stay

2017 hasn’t been the best of years for Bournemouth so far. While much of the focus has been on Leicester’s inability to successfully defend their Premier League crown, the Cherries’ nosedive in form has slipped relatively under the radar.

At the turn of the year, Eddie Howe’s side sat 10th in the Premier League on 24 points, level with south coast rivals Southampton, and – importantly – 10 points clear of the relegation zone. Fast forward to the present day and they’re languishing just six points above the bottom three and have earned just two points this calendar year, that at home against an Arsenal side they were beating 3-0 with 20 minutes still to play only to draw 3-3 and against Watford when they twice came from behind to earn a point. 

A lack of investment defensively is ultimately proving to be the Cherries’ downfall. Nathan Ake’s return to Chelsea on loan certainly rocked Bournemouth considering his influence at the back – the young Dutchman remains their top rated player at 7.20 – but having returned to his parent club, coupled with Marc Wilson’s loan switch to West Brom, Howe’s side look lightweight in the defensive third to say the least. That despite Bournemouth spending big in the summer to bolster a squad that impressed in their debut Premier League campaign. 

Yet, with just shy of £35m spent to improve the squad, only a minority was spent on signing defenders – Wilson from Stoke and Brad Smith from Liverpool – which should have had alarm bells ringing. Only Aston Villa (76) conceded more goals than Bournemouth (67) in the Premier League last season and you would’ve thought Howe would have used any possible transfer funds to improve the club’s defensive solidity. Granted, it’s unlikely he could have foreseen Chelsea’s decision to recall Ake from his loan and, to their credit, Bournemouth are known to have lodged a club record bid to sign the highly rated defender permanently late on in the window. 

However, with Chelsea bringing Ake back to west London on January 8th, Bournemouth had ample time to explore their options to strengthen the defence adequately. With Wilson loaned out on deadline day, they had the chance to retain the 29-year-old’s services to ensure ample competition in defence, yet elected to allow the Republic of Ireland international to link up with Tony Pulis once more. It’s not as though their defensive woes have developed recently either, with Bournemouth conceding three or more goals on nine occasions in their last 14 competitive fixtures, eight of which came before the close of the January transfer window. 

Having now conceded 49 Premier League goals this term, and with the Cherries dropping perilously close towards the relegation zone with the likes of Swansea and Hull beginning to pick up form, it makes the club’s decision not to invest more at the back all the more bewildering. It points to a wider issue concerning the club’s poor decision making in the transfer market. Bournemouth’s summer arrivals still at the club – Jordon Ibe, Jack Wilshere, Lewis Cook, Lyn Moussat and Brad Smith – have registered just 34 league starts between them. Wilshere, with 18, accounts for 52.9% of those and it seems unlikely that he would continue at the club next season, regardless of whether he still has a role to play at Arsenal. 

Club record capture Ibe has struggled to live up to expectations, with Mousset, Cook and Smith failing to nail down a regular starting spot. After last January investing heavily to sign Benik Afobe and Lewis Grabban, coupled with the loan capture of Juan Iturbe, questions need to be asked of Bournemouth’s recruitment policy. Iturbe made only two league appearances during his short stint at the Vitality Stadium, while Grabban, having unsurprisingly failed to make an impact upon his return to Bournemouth, was loaned to Championship side Reading last month. Afobe has routinely played second fiddle to Callum Wilson when he has been fit, yet seven league goals for the former for Bournemouth is an underwhelming return. 

That being said, the Cherries’ issues aren’t in the final third, but rather in their poor attempts to ensure goalkeeper Artur Boruc is rarely tested. Bournemouth rank second bottom for tackles per game (15.2), third bottom for interceptions per game (11.9) and are averaging the fewest fouls per game (10) in the Premier League this term. A soft underbelly is costing them dear, as is a lack of direction in terms of recruitment, particularly in defence. 

With a big money bid made for Ake last month, there are evidently funds available to bolster the squad and provided Bournemouth do avoid relegation, and Howe would be wise to strengthen defensively. Bournemouth are fortunate in that Leicester, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Crystal Palace are all disappointing, which means that they are still six points above the drop zone. However, with 13 games of the campaign left, there is still time for Bournemouth’s short-lived Premier League stay to come to an abrupt end. Provided they stave off relegation, though, serious questions need to be answered over a lack of serious investment in a key area of the pitch that is in dire need of improvement.