Bournemouth Fan View: Eddie's learned his transfer window lessons - and Howe

My club AFC Bournemouth have bossed this summer’s transfer window. That’s just a fact, and it’s been a hugely exciting summer for our fanbase so far.

Nathan Aké, Asmir Begovic, and Jermaine Defoe were all signed before the transfer window was even officially open. Eddie Howe has done the equivalent of doing your school homework on the bus ride home while everyone else stares out of the windows dreaming of what could be.

Changing tact

What’s most interesting of all is how different this window has been to the one we went through last summer. Back in July 2016 we decided nabbing a couple of youngsters from Liverpool was the best way to help consolidate ourselves as a Premier League club. Those youngsters were, of course, Jordon Ibe and Brad Smith.

Costing a collective alleged sum between ten and twenty million pounds, it’s fair to say they have – so far – been fairly abysmal additions. The pair have struggled to nail down a place on the bench – let alone the first eleven. We also bought in the unconvincing Marc Wilson and the raw Lys Mousset for significant fees.

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Experience over potential

Compare that to this summer and the difference is remarkable. The three main transfers we’ve made are all players that will immediately slot into our first eleven. They need no blooding in. They’re experienced in the Premier League, and in a strange yet delightful twist they’ve all actually played for the club before on loan. Defoe in 2000 (where he scored in ten league games in a row), Begovic in 2007, and Aké last season.

What’s really exciting of course is how they can help improve a team that already looked pretty solid at the end of the previous campaign. We’re not simply replacing players – we’re upgrading on them.

Artur Boruc won fan’s player of the season, but Asmir Begovic – seven years his junior – could end up being a huge improvement on the Polish international. That’s if his displays at Stoke City several seasons back are any indication.

Jermain Defoe meanwhile promises to add a poacher’s instinct to our forward line. This is something we didn’t really possess. Callum Wilson is an unknown quantity since his injuries after all, Benik Afobe is error-prone, and Josh King isn’t really a poacher per se.

Aké breaky heart

Nathan Aké is possibly the most exciting off all three signings though, as he was not only a huge crowd favourite during his time here – a last minute winner against Liverpool will do that – but at only twenty-two years of age is only going to improve in seasons to come.

Basically, Eddie Howe may have stuck with players he knows – from the distant and recent past – but in this transfer window he seems to have got it spot on. It’s certainly a very exciting time to be an AFC Bournemouth fan, and I can’t wait for the season to start.