Bournemouth

Tottenham have eyes on Bournemouth's English defender Lloyd Kelly, 25. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's gossip column

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport journalist

It is difficult to add to the superlatives that have been laid at Bournemouth's door, and that of head coach Andoni Iraola, after back-to-back wins over Wolves and Brighton helped them smash through their long-held target of beating their record Premier League points tally.

While Eddie Howe's accomplishments render him worthy of having a statue built when the Cherries eventually move to a new stadium, his best haul in five top-flight seasons was 46 in 2016-17.

Iraola's side already have 48 points, with three games still to play.

And while Saturday's visit to title contenders Arsenal looks like a "free swing" where anything Bournemouth bring back is a bonus, finishing the season with Brentford (home) and Chelsea (away) give opportunities for the half-century mark to be reached, or even surpassed.

It may be greedy to point out that the Cherries could finish tantalisingly close to qualifying for European football next season now that the fiendish nature of Uefa coefficients suggest that only seventh, rather than eighth place, will be enough.

However, Sunday's opponents Brighton gave the appearance of a side devastated by injuries and drained after a punishing Europa League fixture schedule - although, it should be pointed out, the Seagulls still had the experienced Danny Welbeck and Adam Lallana, and Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati available as substitutes, even if the latter two remained on the bench throughout.

A look at Bournemouth's bench in the same game shows how stretched their squad already is - including two goalkeepers, only three outfield players with Premier League experience and four untried development squad players making up the numbers.

Winger Antoine Semenyo was carried off on a stretcher with what looked like a serious knee injury in stoppage time, although he left the ground on crutches rather than in an ambulance.

So while Iraola will be keen to extend his record points tally further, he will also be hoping to reach the finish line without losing any more key players.

Sam Davis
Fan writer

Two wins in four days leaves Bournemouth on 48 points with three games to play and a new club record in the top flight.

In the club's entire history, a 46-point total was their best in the Premier League, but this was beaten at the weekend following the 3-0 trouncing of Brighton.

It is an incredible achievement from the club, and in particular, head coach Andoni Iraola, who without his assistant (after a failed work permit) and first role in England, has adapted impeccably after a stuttering start.

Originally, he was without a win in the club's first nine games and many fans and media pundits felt justified in their disdain for the sacking of Gary O’Neil in favour of Andoni.

But now they are left eating humble pie.

In fact, since the start of November, Bournemouth’s upturn has been so impressive that it would actually put them in fifth spot during that period. That is a remarkable turnaround under Iraola and one in which the footballing world should certainly applaud.

With three games remaining, more records could well be overcome for the Cherries. One more victory would mean more wins than any previous top flight campaign and two more clean sheets would beat our best total amount. Five more goals can also provide the club's most Premier League strikes in a season.

Plus, avoiding defeat in the final home game against Brentford would mean a record seven home games unbeaten on the bounce.

It has been a glorious season to be an AFC Bournemouth fan!

Sam Davis can be found at Back of the Net, external

Image source, Getty Images

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman believes Bournemouth's form under Andoni Iraola strengthens the "argument of giving managers time to get their message across".

The Cherries failed to win any of their first nine Premier League matches but pursued with the Spanish manager and have picked up the fifth most points in the division since 1 November.

"I saw them play earlier in the season a couple of times and I just couldn't understand how they would get themselves together and stay in the Premier League. They looked so far off what they've become," Osman told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

"Iraola obviously just needed a bit of time. His front four at the moment are as dynamic as you might find. They're very good, they create chances, they score goals and they're really pleasing on the eye.

"Bournemouth are a good team to watch going forward now and it's no surprise to see they've picked up the fifth most points since 1 November.

"I'm seeing a team that Bournemouth fans must really enjoy watching at the moment.

"Considering that Gary O'Neil was there last season and they made the decision to replace him - it looked like it was going to go wrong so to have it turn out so right the ownership must be delighted."

Watch the full episode of Monday Night Club on BBC iPlayer or listen to the podcast on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League clubs have voted in favour of adopting an anchoring economic model, which will be linked to the earnings of the bottom club (tv and prize money).

The proposed system would operate like a spending cap.

The next stage is final analysis and drafting of rules, which will potentially be put to clubs at an AGM in June.

The model will be presented to clubs and - should clubs vote in favour then - it will replace the Profit and Sustainability Rules currently in place, from the 2025-26 season onwards.

Any new element of the financial system would come in shadow next season, to fully replace PSR in 2025-26.

“We will obviously wait to see further details of these specific proposals, but we have always been clear that we would oppose any measure that would place a ‘hard’ cap on player wages," said the PFA

“There is an established process in place to ensure that proposals like this, which would directly impact our members, have to be properly consulted on.”

Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United opposed the vote, with Chelsea abstaining.

We asked for your views on Sunday's match between Bournemouth and Brighton.

Here are some of your answers:

Bournemouth fans

Mark: Wow Andoni, what a job you have done! Some doubted you in the early days, but most knew that you would turn it around. Our best ever Premier League points return, after no wins in the first nine games, and we still have three more games to play. The future is bright, the future is Andoni. Take a bow, we all love you.

Boessli: Many doubted Iraola when he first got here but he has now proven himself to be a very astute manager. I think the supporters have gone from "why did we get him in?" to "don't let him go". Bournemouth could have been looking at a European spot if we were able start the season as we are finishing it.

Keith: I never understood why Travers was dropped. Neto has pulled off some great saves but he is very unpredictable with the ball at his feet and punches too often, rather than catching the ball. Overall, Travers is more dependable, in my opinion.

Katie: I could not be prouder of these boys. Little old Bournemouth proving everyone wrong, every week. To have so many players missing and still produce a performance like that is immense. We have smashed our highest ever points tally with games left. I love this team.

Brighton fans

Trevor: Brighton would be playing in the Championship next year if their current form was occurring at the start of the season. There are lots of injuries and disruptive rumours surrounding Roberto de Zerbi. Selling off many of our key players might have been necessary to balance the books but, on a sporting balance, that was not the right choice. Brighton must rebuild during the summer.

Bob: Our season has slowly imploded. The players look tired and of low morale. Roberto de Zerbi needs to change our tactics of playing out from the back. All of the teams have cottoned on to this and look forward to playing us, because we are so easy to score against. I cannot wait for this season to finish. Hopefully we finish higher than 15th.

Steve: European football and a 12-man strong injury list would have challenged most Premier League squads but, when you consider that Brighton's 'reserves' are either injury-prone or teenagers, it comes as no surprise that the performances have nosedived in 2024. Roma started the rot, then Luton and Manchester City, and now Bournemouth are just emphasising it. Quality beats quantity.

Matthew: Injuries or no injuries, what this season has shown is that De Zerbi has no plan B and cannot encourage or nurture young talent. His tactics are exceptional when he has a full squad, but he has shown himself to be too reliant on his best players, which has caused injuries. The manner of our drop in form has to stop with him. It's relegation form and it's concerning.

Image source, Getty Images

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola "should absolutely" be in the conversation for Premier League Manager of the Year.

When they started the season without a win in their opening nine games, the decision to part ways with Gary O'Neil and appoint Iraola - who had no experience in England - was questioned.

Those questions have been well and truly answered as the season has gone on.

Only Manchester City and Arsenal have picked up more points than the Cherries in the last ten games and they have now recorded their highest top-flight points total.

"He had a really difficult start but it helps when you are operating away from pressure," said Edwards on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily Podcast.

"Bournemouth do not really get talked about at the same level as others, so he did not get the same level of scrutiny at the start as maybe some other managers might have.

"But he has done superbly well. They play excellent football and are showing signs of progression.

"It has been a really good season and maybe Eddie Howe now has a rival for being one of their greatest managers?

"If he follows it up next season, then unfortunately because of the food chain, other clubs will be looking at him."

Listen to the Football Daily Podcast on BBC Sounds

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the best of the action on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch highlights of Saturday' seven games on Match of the Day here

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

• Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the victory: "We played a really complete game. It is always difficult to play against Brighton, you have to show composure.

"We were dangerous in transition and played the spaces really well."

On forward Enes Unal: "I was very happy. He has been pushing a lot. It has been a difficult situation for him because it is difficult to take minutes from Dominic Solanke, but we decided to play two up front today.

"I am happy because he scored a really, really nice goal in the second half."

On whether Unal's loan may become a permanent deal: "Yeah, we told him yesterday that it was going to be made permanent.

"We are very happy, especially with his attitude and how he is integrating on and off the pitch. It is a very good signing for us."

On hitting their record points total: "We are really, really happy. The players deserve these points, they have performed really well.

"Even when we weren't getting points at the start of the season, they were pushing and playing well. Now we want more points and to continue."

Callum Matthews
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Nine games into the Premier League season there were serious questions about whether Bournemouth had made the right decision in replacing Gary O'Neill with Andoni Iraola.

While O'Neill is forging a successful career at Wolves, the questions have disappeared on the south coast.

Iraola has led Bournemouth to their highest top-flight points total with three games to spare.

They were excellent against Brighton, playing superbly on the transition to regularly cause plenty of issues.

If they can match this level of performance and points total from their past 26 games over a full season then a European tilt is on the cards next season.

Image source, Getty Images

Bournemouth will sign striker Enes Unal on a permanent transfer this summer, Andoni Iraola has confirmed to BBC Sport.

Following the Cherries' 3-0 win over Brighton this afternoon, BBC Sport asked Iraola whether the club wanted to sign the goalscorer permanently.

The Spanish manager answered: "Yeah, we told him yesterday that it was going to be made permanent.

"We are very happy, especially with his attitude and how he is integrating on and off the pitch. It is a very good signing for us."

Bournemouth signed the Turkey international from Getafe on deadline day in the January transfer window, with the 26-year-old's deal rumoured to include a 16.5m euro (£14.1m) option to buy clause, external.

Bournemouth defender Adam Smith has been talking to Sky Sports following the game, firstly about the Cherries reaching their record points tally in the Premier League: "It is the most talented group we have had here in years. It is a great result and amazing to beat our points total - that was our aim.

"Today was tough. We knew they would have most of the ball. We had to dig in and they didn't have many clear-cut chances. We are so dangerous in transition and that is what we did. It is a great result.

"Every wide area, and up top, we have got so much pace. We are such a dynamic team - that is how we play and it is causing teams issues."

On Enes Unal: "He has shown a great attitude. It is amazing for him. He is a great guy and an amazing player."

On manager Andoni Iraola: "He has been amazing. It was a transition when he first came in and we struggled in first 10 games to get a grip on how he wanted to play.

"As soon as we got to grips with it, we went on a run and haven't looked back since. He has done a great job and I am looking forward to the last few games and trying to push into the top 10."

Here are the key facts and figures following Sunday’s game between Bournemouth and Brighton in the Premier League.

• Brighton have won just one of their past 12 away matches in the Premier League (D4 L7), failing to win any of their past five (D2 L3). In 2024, only Luton Town (0), Nottingham Forest (0) and Everton (0) have won fewer matches on the road in the division than the Seagulls (1).

• Since Bournemouth's first home win of the season on 28 October 2023, only Manchester City (0) and Liverpool (1) have lost fewer Premier League home matches, with the Cherries unbeaten in each of their past six at the Vitality Stadium (W4 D2).

• Only Arsenal (16) and Everton (12) have scored more goals from corners than Bournemouth this season (11) in the Premier League. It is the most goals the Cherries have ever scored from corner situations in a single Premier League season.

• Justin Kluivert's goal for Bournemouth was his seventh in the Premier League, overtaking his father Patrick Kluviert's tally of six goals in the competition.

• Brighton have now failed to score in five consecutive Premier League first-halves, which is the Seagulls' longest run without a goal in the opening 45 minutes of a league match since April 2022 (a run of seven).

Enes Unal scored on his first Premier League start for Bournemouth as the Cherries beat below-par Brighton to reach their highest top-flight points total.

Marcos Senesi's 13th-minute header gave Andoni Iraola's side the lead, nodding in from three yards after the visitors failed to clear a corner.

Turkey striker Unal dragged wide in the first half, but scored his second goal since joining on loan from Getafe in January when he cleverly headed Dango Ouattara's cross into the far corner after the break.

The impressive Justin Kluivert sealed the win when he drove at the Brighton defence late on and drilled home a left-footed strike for his third goal in three home games.

Brighton were lacklustre throughout and failed to create many meaningful chances - coming closest when Simon Adingra's effort was tipped over the bar by Mark Travers.

The victory moves Bournemouth to 48 points - two more points than their previous best top-flight haul in 2016-17.

Brighton remain 12th and have now won just six of their past 28 league games. Their season is in danger of petering out in a campaign that has bucked the trend of their recent impressive progress.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Bournemouth fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Brighton fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Three matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

Follow live text updates here

Listen to all three games on BBC Sounds:

• Bournemouth v Brighton - from 14:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham v Arsenal - from 14:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester City - from 16:30 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Andy Bell and Steve Queralt from Ride, who support Arsenal and Tottenham.

Sutton's prediction: 4-3

Brighton's season has fizzled out and it cannot have helped that there is uncertainty over their manager Roberto de Zerbi, who has been linked with so many other clubs.

The Seagulls still had some nice passages of play against Manchester City on Thursday night but it was nowhere near enough - City schooled them from start to finish.

Bournemouth are above them in the table now, something which seemed unlikely earlier in the campaign. When Brighton beat the Cherries at Amex Stadium at the end of September, it sent them third while Andoni Iraola's side were still waiting for their first win.

The way Iraola has turned things around has surprised everyone, myself included, and I am certainly not going to back against them here. I am predicting a south-coast cracker, and a Bournemouth victory.

Andy's prediction: 0-0

No goals here!

Steve's prediction: 2-1

Again, neither team really have much to play for anymore, so I am going to go for it to be a nice sunny afternoon by the sea and Bournemouth to win.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Here is a selection of the key facts and figures before Bournemouth host Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, 14:00 BST.

• Brighton won this fixture 2-0 last season, ending a run of four straight away league defeats against Bournemouth. They last won consecutive league visits to the Cherries in February 1932.

• Bournemouth are unbeaten in their past five Premier League home games – only once have they had a longer run without defeat at Vitality Stadium in the top flight, going six games between May and October 2018.

• Brighton have failed to score in six of their 12 away games in all competitions so far in 2024, as many times as they had in 49 games on the road in 2022 and 2023 combined.

• Dominic Solanke has scored nine home goals in the league this season – no Bournemouth player has ever reached double figures at the Vitality Stadium in a single top-flight campaign.

• No Brighton player has scored more away goals in the league this season than Danny Welbeck (four). Only in 2013-14 (six) has he scored more on the road in a single campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

On the Cherries: Unpicked podcast, BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark and Kris Temple have been discussing Bournemouth chairman Bill Foley's comments on Dominic Solanke's future during a recent fan's forum.

Jordan read out some of the published minutes from the meeting, which are available on the club website, external: "Bill Foley was asked about holding onto key players this summer and his answer was he was aware Dominic Solanke might want to leave. He said if that was to happen he would make sure that Bournemouth got the absolute best deal possible.

"That is the first time I think we have heard that angle on it. There has been plenty of 'this club is interested in Solanke, that club is interested in Solanke', which you expect when you have a goalscorer with that many goals in the Premier League, but there has never been the Solanke side of it.

"It feels like we have just got that now from Bill Foley."

Kris added his thoughts on the striker's transfer situation: "It is always good to hear an 'unofficial' word on things. Bill Foley is obviously the chairman, but I don't know how much he is involved in player negotiations. I don't think he is that involved - he said in January he expected Lloyd Kelly to go and he didn't.

"So it was interesting to hear him say that. I have been firm in my belief for a few months now that he will go in the summer, because this is Bournemouth's moment to cash in on him.

"I would say that £40-50m is about right for someone of Solanke's age. He is 26-years-old, so he's got plenty ahead of him but he's not young potential.

"That throws up the next question which is whether [Enes] Unal, who has been brought in to have a look at, is the replacement for Solanke. Unal is on loan so Bournemouth do have the option to buy him, but they don't have to.

"I don't think we have seen enough from him as a number nine, for them to make a decision."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Abu Bakar Yasin
BBC Sports Journalist

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League home match against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Here are the main headlines from his news conference:

• Since their first victory against Everton on the 28 October, Iraola's side have picked up 39 points in the following 24 games. Upon being asked about this run of form he said: "We cannot discount the first nine,10 games and I do feel we have improved a lot since the first game. But we cannot recover those points we missed. At the moment I think we are 10th, we want to finish strong. We have four games left which are really difficult to finish the season and I hope we improved from the games we played against these teams in the first phase".

• On their match against Brighton, Iraola said: "I think the first game against Brighton we had a really good 45 minutes. It was one of the best halves we have played, but they made a coupe of adjustments at half time. I remember they took Kaoru Mitoma and put Joao Pedro on at the end and hurt us in the second half with more spaces. I hope we have improved since then, I think we have players who understand better what we want from them and let's see on Sunday if its true we are better."

• On Milos Kerkez facing a three-game ban after he got sent off against Wolves, he said: "It's a shame because last month he performed really, really well, probably the best month of the season for him. The Manchester United game, the other day against Wolves, he has been playing with confidence, he has improved since the beginning of the season."

• Asked about Neto being left out Iraola said: "I think he understands. Everyone understands there is strong competition in his position and they have to be always ready to play. You have to train well and they are doing that - Mark [Travers], Neto, Andrei Radu, and Darren [Randolph]. The ones that are playing less minutes are trying to push."

• Asked further on if dropping his captain was hard he added: "No, at the end it is the decisions you make for one game. Probably we give it more importance because it's the goalkeeper but for me it's like any other position. Sometimes we change other positions - no one asked me why I put Alex Scott on the other day, maybe it becomes a bigger thing because it's the goalkeeper but for me it's just a different position."

• On how much Dominic Solanke is worth, he said: "For me as a manager he is worth a lot of money. The more expensive we put him, the better for the manager. I understand the club, I think we will try to keep him - that is what we want. We don't want anyone to come with the money but we know how the market works. But I will not be the one to put on the price. If I was to, it will be very easy for me to put it very, very expensive. He has scored a lot of goals, he played very well, so probably there will be offers for him - yes."

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences here

Listen to live commentary of Bournemouth vs Brighton on Sunday from 13:55 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live