Vultures are already circling Bournemouth’s prize belongings as Cherries impress as soon as once more in win over Southampton, writes KIERAN GILL
- Bournemouth beat Southampton 3-1 to move up to fifth in the Premier League
- Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Real Madrid are among clubs that like Huijsen
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Will Liverpool recover from Everton blow in season-defining week?
To think 15 years ago, Bournemouth were losing 1-0 at Dagenham & Redbridge in League Two on this corresponding weekend. Now they are cursing Manchester City for winning to deny them fourth position in the Premier League.
Football, eh?
They would take fifth, for that is set to be enough to qualify for the Champions League come the end of the season, thanks to UEFA’s coefficient system.
The prospect of ‘Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Lazio or Roma’ rocking up at the Vitality Stadium — as their supporters were singing here at St Mary’s — would make those miserable trips to Dagenham East underground station entirely worthwhile.
The trouble is, football is full of vultures, each ready to swoop when the transfer window opens.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and more of Europe’s grandest giants like their 19-year-old central defender, Dean Huijsen. Liverpool are fond of Milos Kerkez, Paris Saint-Germain fancy Illia Zabarnyi, and so on.
Bournemouth climbed to fifth in the table after a 3-1 win over Southampton at St Mary’s
Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United and Real Madrid are among the clubs that like Dean Huijsen, 19
That’s before even getting to the boss. Andoni Iraola’s stock is spiking with the Bournemouth manager already making shortlists at other clubs for his high-risk, high-reward style of play.
As my colleague Sami Mokbel reported in his column this week, Iraola prefers to work on short-term deals, and his current contract at the Vitality runs until 2026.
Mail Sport asked him after this victory over Southampton about Bournemouth’s fans singing that they want him to sign up for the next 10 years.
The 42-year-old Spaniard laughed and said: ‘I’m very thankful for them. Not just this season. Even from the beginning when we were not winning a game, I felt the support of the club, players and supporters.’
The neutrals among us may be hoping that Bournemouth secure their evenings with the very best in Europe.
But there is pressure on them to make sure they reach those lofty heights — because it will be harder to keep their talent if they don’t.
