Evanilson responds to Justin Kluivert’s message as exit-linked Bournemouth star jets out
Bournemouth’s pre-season preparations continue as Andoni Iraola looks to rebuild a squad which has been picked apart in the transfer window.
The Cherries’ Premier League campaign saw them win a record 56 points and challenge for a European place before finishing ninth, but that soon gave way to a battle for Andoni Iraola to keep his best players.
Dean Huijsen’s £50million move to Real Madrid was confirmed before last season had even concluded, while Milos Kerkez and Mark Travers have followed suit alongside Kepa Arrizabalaga’s return to Chelsea.
Bournemouth have taken steps to replace Kerkez, Kepa and Travers with the signings of Adrien Truffert and Djordje Petrovic respectively, but another exit could be on the cards for last season’s top scorer.
Kluivert jets out with ‘brother’ Evanilson at Bournemouth
Petrovic and Truffert’s arrivals may have filled the gaps left in net and at left-back this summer, but Iraola is yet to find a replacement for Huijsen at centre-half as the Cherries’ pre-season ramps up in intensity.
Justin Kluivert has also been linked with a switch to Bayer Leverkusen which could gather pace over the course of the transfer window, leaving Iraola with yet another key position to fill if he joins the exodus.
However, Kluivert was in high spirits as he and his Bournemouth team-mates prepared to jet out to the US for their pre-season Summer Series, in which they’ll face Everton, Manchester United and West Ham.
Kluivert shared a photo alongside Evanilson which the Brazilian shared on his Instagram story (21 June), accompanied by the caption of; “Vamos Hermano”, meaning “let’s go brother!”
Bournemouth braced for further exits despite Kluivert stance
Football Insider Verdict
Iraola will be in no mood to sanction further departures at the Vitality Stadium this summer, and over £100m has already been made in sales after Bournemouth narrowly avoided a PSR breach last season.
Kluivert may have travelled with Bournemouth’s squad for their pre-season tour, and Iraola will hope that he turns down the chance to join Bayer Leverkusen after he was key to the Spaniard’s attacking setup.
More worrying for Iraola is the increasingly likely prospect of losing Illya Zabarnyi to either Tottenham or PSG, and if Bournemouth lose both their starting centre-backs this summer, the task of rebuilding the defence could become even more daunting.