‘Andoni Iraola to regret Tottenham snub as Bournemouth project implodes’
Andoni Iraola may now be rueing his decision to reject a Tottenham move as Bournemouth’s project is in danger of collapsing.
The Spaniard, alongside Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner and Fulham manager Marco Silva, were all touted as Ange Postecoglou replacements at Tottenham.
Iraola was seen as the leading candidate to take over in North London, but in April, the Bournemouth boss turned down a move to Tottenham.
Andoni Iraola misses out on European football
Iraola’s team were flying high and looked good for qualification to Europe for the first time in their history.
But a shocking run of three wins from their final 13 games shattered any dreams of weekends away on the continent, playing against Europe’s most esteemed clubs.
Instead, it was Tottenham who defied the odds and qualified for the Champions League, despite finishing 17th in the Premier League, thanks to their Europa League triumph over Man United.
At the time of his decision to reject a move to London, Iraola looked to be choosing the healthier short-term option of playing in Europe, rather than being drawn into a lengthy rebuild in the capital.
Bournemouth face serious overhaul as Europe’s elites target star players
Ironically, Bournemouth look like they are being drawn into a lengthy rebuild against their will now.
One thing was for certain last season, Dean Huijsen was going to leave as he had a very reasonable £50million [Sky Sports] release clause.
But £50m for Bournemouth is a brilliant sum of money to receive for a player who had been with the team for one season, and should easily cover his replacement and a few extra signings here and there.
Milos Kerkez has been seemingly on his way to Liverpool since Christmas, and once again, the Cherries are well-positioned to deal with his exit, and have signed Adrien Truffert as a replacement before the Hungarian has even left.
Bournemouth struggling to keep stars without Europe
The real problems begin with the ever-growing interest in Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo, and Illia Zabarnyi, plus the exit of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Replacing one, two, or even three key players is doable. But any more than that puts Bournemouth at serious risk of lacking the quality to keep pace in the Premier League next season, as a bedding-in period will be required if half the team changes.
What’s more, failure to qualify for any sort of European competition has changed things as the above-mentioned trio are now angling for a switch, which they may not have done before.
Zabarnyi has agreed to personal terms with Champions League winners PSG, whilst Tottenham are now looking to get a deal done for Semenyo, Pete O’Rourke revealed to Football Insider exclusively.
And as Bournemouth’s project gets picked apart by other clubs, before it has even begun, Spurs are now focused on strengthening their side after someone pulling Champions League football out of the hat.
Tottenham are interested in signing Brentford duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, and have already secured Mathys Tel on a discounted permanent deal.
He’s unlikely to ever admit it, but Iraola may well have made the wrong decision by sticking with Bournemouth, rather than twisting and taking a chance on Spurs.