Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has described the conflict of emotions he felt when selling Dominic Solanke to Tottenham for £65m in the summer after such a successful season at the Vitality Stadium.
After finishing the 2023/24 season with 48 points, Bournemouth recorded his best ever result in England’s top flight. However, Solanke played a huge part in this success, scoring 19 points First league goals, so his loss certainly made things more difficult at the start of this campaign.
Regardless, the club expected interest in its star player.
Bournemouth coach Iraola is happy that Solanke has challenged himself
“There was always a high possibility that he would leave,” admits Iraola FourFourTwo. Not just because of the goals he scored, but because of his performances last season. He was so consistent.”
The fact that the move took place on August 10, just a week before the start of the season, actually made the situation more difficult to deal with. However, despite losing such a complete striker, Iraola almost welcomed the move – especially from Solanke.
“He didn’t get called up for the Euros and that didn’t really help us – it made it difficult to convince Dom to stay,” adds Iraola.
“There’s a part of you as a coach that obviously you don’t want to lose him because your job becomes more difficult. But part of you wants him to step up, do well, and get the recognition he deserves. Even though he plays for SpursWe still support him and are glad that he returned to the national team.
“It’s a challenge for all of us. We have to replace not only his goals but everything he has given us with different players. Everyone has to contribute.”
Bournemouth replaced Solanke well, with Evanilson arriving for a club record £40 million. With the Brazilian up front and the improvement of other players, the Cherries are undoubtedly in contention for Europe and are on course to score even more points than their best-ever last season – breaking the 50-point barrier is certainly within sight.
