- Whether you call it soccer or football, the game is (almost) always filled with excitement...
The new Premier League season is here and there’s plenty of debate amongst pundits and fans alike surrounding who will be relegated from the top flight of English football, or soccer, as those of us in the States call it.
Newcomers Luton Town and Sheffield United are guaranteed to drop back down to the Championship, according to the Premier League relegation odds, with the Hatters and the Blades 4/11 and 4/7 to fall through the trap door, respectively.
Who will join them in the bottom three come the end of the season in May isn’t as obvious, as there is very little to separate a whole host of teams in the dreaded relegation betting market — including Nottingham Forest, Everton, Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham.
Bournemouth are an interesting one. The Cherries were heavily tipped for relegation last season, but Gary O’Neil took over from Scott Parker after just four games and surprisingly steered the south coast side to safety.
There have been some big changes at the Vitality Stadium this summer though, with Andoni Iraola somewhat harshly replacing O’Neil, while five players have been brought in in a bid to help Bournemouth’s chances of survival.
That said, let’s take at Bournemouth’s summer signings.
Hamed Traore – £20m
A player who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bournemouth, the Cherries made Hamed Traore’s move permanent for £20m before the 2022-23 campaign even ended. The 23-year-old, who has five caps for the Ivory Coast, was limited to just seven Premier League appearances last season as he suffered a foot injury. But he showed enough to impress and the Bournemouth fans will be excited to see what he can do when fully fit.
Milos Kerkez – £15.5m
Another exciting young player, Bournemouth completed the signing of the highly-rated Milos Kerkez for £15.5m back in July. The 19-year-old is considered one of the best up-and-coming left-backs in the world and is already a very experienced player despite his age, featuring over 50 times across all competitions for AZ Alkmaar last season and already earning eight caps for his country Hungary.
Romain Faivre – £12.8m
A player that has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time now, with the likes of Leeds United, Fulham and Crystal Palace formerly targeting the midfielder, Romain Faivre finally got his move to the English top flight this summer. However, the former Lyon player will spend the season on loan back in Ligue 1 at Lorient — where he spent the latter half of last season.
Justin Kluivert – £9.6m
The son of legendary footballer Patrick Kluivert, who spent a year at Newcastle United back in the early 2000s, Justin Kluivert was once considered one of the highest-rated youngsters in the world when he made his breakthrough at Ajax and he earned a move to Roma. But he failed to make an impact at the Serie A club and had loan spells at RB Leipzig, Nice and Valencia before washing up on the south coast.
Ionut Radu – Loan
Bournemouth’s most recent arrival, the Cherries have brought in goalkeeper Ionut Radu on loan from Inter Milan with the option to make the deal permanent. The 26-year-old spent last season on loan with Italian side Cremonese and Ligue 1 outfit Auxerre. He will add depth between the sticks alongside Brazilian Neto.