Premier League 2017/18: Bournemouth are the early winners of the transfer season

As curtains came down on the 2016-17 Premier League campaign, the progress made by AFC Bournemouth; a tiny club from the south of England, was very evident. The Cherries had played out a season that had been nothing short of a roller coaster as it oversaw of the highs of beating Liverpool and Leicester and the lows of losing to Middlesbrough and Swansea.

The club finished as high as ninth in the table and rather unexpectedly, had defied a lot of odds in doing that. And after narrowly avoiding the drop in the 2015-16 campaign, one could easily point out the difference.

In the beautiful game that football is, it's always a challenge to keep one's feet on the ground after a brief period of overperformance. And it'd be fair to say that it was a season in which the Cherries performed above everyone's expectations, but it would take something special to stay where they are, if not improve. Bournemouth aren't a club with the immense financial backing that the top six of England possess and neither do they have the stature to attract world class players to improve from where they currently are.

Despite all the factors that could drag the club back to the bottom half of the table, Eddie Howe's men have come out with flying colours. So much so that the club has probably done the best bit of business in the Premier League so far.

Plugging the holes

Jermain Defoe should be a valuable addition to the Bournemouth front line

It may not be a judgement on the basis of the number of players signed or the quality of those that have been roped in, but it’s a one based on how holes have been pegged so far by the club.

The likes of Manchester City and Everton may have brought in more players than the Cherries, but they haven’t succeeded in making sure that all of their problems have been resolved. The top two clubs haven’t made a single big signing, while Manchester United have only signed Victor Lindelof from Benfica. And as surprising as it sounds, Bournemouth already have a team that looks complete enough to challenge in the top half of the Premier League.

Callum Wilson, who was forced into sitting out for a majority of the 2016-17 campaign due to an ACL injury, has been an important goalscorer for the club ever since he joined from Coventry in 2014. The injury that he sustained meant that Howe had to make do with playing the inconsistent Benik Afobe up front and use Lys Mousset, who has hardly made any impact since arriving in England, as a back-up.

The former Arsenal man could score only six goals, which is a tally found wanting of more goals. It was the mercurial Joshua King who emerged as the club’s highest goal-getter by finding the back of the net 16 times in the Premier League.

The Cherries scored the seventh most number of goals last season; one more than Manchester United and seven less than Everton. Despite that though, the absence of a quality goal-getter was felt throughout the time when Wilson wasn’t fit and the onus of doing that ultimately fell on the likes of King, Ryan Fraser and Afobe himself to get the goals.

The arrival of Jermain Defoe, who had a clause in his Sunderland contract that allowed the Englishman to move on a free if the Black Cats went down, will solve the goalscoring issue to perfection.

If not for Defoe, David Moyes’ Sunderland would have doomed to the Championship in January itself. His goals, hold-up up front and the ability to link up play often handed the men from the North of the country a much-needed impetus to snatch the odd goal The 34-year-old scored 15 times in a campaign that saw Sunderland score 29 times themselves.

The former Tottenham man won’t just act as a backup to Wilson but will allow the club to play the flat 4-4-2 as well. He fits into Howe’s high-pressing and possession oriented style and despite being as old as 34, there’s no point in seeing why he won’t be a key signing for them.

Shoring up the backline

Nathan Ake’s addition should add much-needed vitality to the defence at the Vitality Stadium

The fact that the club scored the seventh most number of goals doesn’t mean that they had tied up the defensive job. Bournemouth had the fifth worst defensive record in the league, all that despite the impressive season that Steve Cook enjoyed at the back. A better defence would have enhanced the Cherries’ chances of finishing further up the table and there was a need to bring in another quality defender. And that’s exactly what they’re getting in Nathan Ake.

Roped in for a £20 million from Chelsea, Ake had attracted attention from many during his loan spell at the Vitality Stadium last season. While the 22-year-old made just 10 appearances, he scored as many as three times during his stay and became a vital cog in Howe’s wheel too. The starlet formed a decent defensive pairing with Cook at the back and the signing from Chelsea itself shows how far the club has come from the times when it was in the fourth division of English football.

With Bournemouth in possession of full-backs who like to fly forward- Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith, there has been a need to have able defenders who can cover up the wide areas when the full-backs bomb forward to attack. Ake’s versatility and positioning will come in very handy during transitions when the team loses the ball high the pitch with the full backs near the wingers.

Begovic will look shut down all his distractors

The third signing; that of Asmir Begovic may have gone slightly under the radar, but the former Stoke City and Chelsea man is one of those players who could never impose himself at a powerhouse club, despite impressing a lot at Staffordshire.

The Bosnian is still 30 and would likely be the first choice ahead of Artur Boruc between the sticks. It’d be a golden opportunity for someone like Begovic to once again prove everyone of his true credentials at a club that is looking to establish itself in the top half of the Premier League table.

While three signings have been rather revolutionary for the club, the fourth one has been a subdued one. Much like how Lewis Cook’s acquisition from Leeds hardly grabbed the attention of anyone, Connor Mahoney’s signing hasn’t been afforded any attention too.

Connor Mahoney (L) could prove to be another shrewd signing

The former Blackburn Rovers youngster is a winger by trade and may well prove to be another handy signing that allows the club to challenge on more fronts than just the Premier League. The 20-year-old made only four starts in the Championship and there have been questions about whether he’s good enough to play for a Premier League club.

These questions will continue to linger until the Englishman proves people wrong, but it’s his youthful exuberance that Howe would love to have on his side

One can certainly expect the club to make one more signing, but it would only increase the squad depth that currently exists in there. It could well be a midfield signing, considering Howe hasn’t roped in a central midfielder yet, but the performances of the likes of Harry Arter, Andy Surman and Dan Gosling were good enough. And with Lewis Cook likely to be back fit following his triumph with the England U20s, the midfielder could turn out to be a new signing himself.