Bournemouth

George Booth
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Marco Rose confirmed the Cherries had "suffered some injuries" during pre-season, but the German boss did not name players who may be ruled out for the opening game of the season.

• The former RB Leipzig boss is "happy" with his squad and that everything was "in a good spot" after Bournemouth acted early during the summer window.

• Bournemouth's debut season in Europe will welcome a "big challenge", but Rose said his side "are looking forward to playing in Europe and representing our club in Europe".

• Rose confirmed the Cherries must still prioritise the Premier League and the cups alongside their schedule with European football. "Finding the right balance in giving the players the right load is a big job, but I am quite sure we handled it together with the staff," added Rose.

• The new boss expects a "tough challenge" away at Enzo Maresca's Manchester City, but suggested "maybe it is time to win there" after the Cherries have failed to register a single win at the Etihad.

• On facing Maresca: "A clear philosophy, you know what you get. You know that they want to play. You see the processes they have, the approach they have. It is going to be a tough challenge, but we are quite positive."

• On replacing Andoni Iraola: "It was his [Andoni Iraola] decision to go. The club needed a new coach, so someone has to do the job, that's for sure. If he's not here anymore, there needs to be another one [coach] and that's me. I love to be here. It was a conscious decision because of the talks and the observing of the team that I did. I am here because the club thought that it was a good idea to bring a coach who has a similar approach to the former coach."

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Bournemouth's president of business operations Jim Frevola has addressed criticism of the pink Vitality logo which is on the front of this season's kits.

Vitality sponsor the whole stadium and the Cherries' kit but the pink sponsor logo on the front of shirts has led to a backlash with more than 800 supporters signing "Ditch The Pink" petition, calling for the pink logo to be removed.

Frevola told BBC Radio Solent: "We're not immune to the noise on this topic and neither is Vitality. Their CEO is aware of it, their marketing team is aware of it, and all I can say is we've absolutely heard the feedback.

"We will take it on board. We've talked to Vitality about it. They've been super supportive of talking about future designs for future seasons and taking that feedback on board and integrating it in a way that I think people will be happy about in the future. I acknowledge that people have strong opinions about it.

"I think pink is an important colour to them [Vitality] and what we have to do is if we are going to integrate pink into a kit is make sure that it is more naturally integrated. We have heard the feedback and we're not immune to trying to make adjustments."

Frevola confirmed there will be no changes to the 2026-27 kits: "They are the kits for the season, we've ordered them, they're here and they are going to be in the shop.

"Vitality is one of the best partners we can have. Without that partnership we would be in violation of squad cost ratio. It's a really important partnership. I want to make sure we are delivering on results for Vitality.

"I've got a lot of folks that say they love the kit but Vitality have taken the feedback on board and we are already working on next year's design so supporters will be pleased for sure."

Listen to the full conversation below or listen on BBC Sounds

Last season: Sixth.

This season: 14th.

How will Bournemouth cope without Andoni Iraola? How will his successor Marco Rose settle? And how will they handle the extra burden of Europa League football?

These are the reasons I am predicting a Premier League drop-off for the Cherries - but would not be surprised to see this one defied.

The foot injury that rules Eli Junior Kroupi out for up to four months is a real blow, but there is plenty of talent elsewhere as Bournemouth stand firm against any advances for the outstanding Alex Scott.

New faces follow a familiar pattern with 22-year-old Portugal defender Antonio Silva arriving from Benfica, along with young forward Alvaro Rodriguez from Elche.

Juanlu Sanchez, a £11m signing from Sevilla, has Champions League experience and could prove yet another clever Cherries purchase.

• Read more of Phil's predictions

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Teams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.

Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.

The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.

However, competition has come at a cost.

One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.

While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.

The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.

After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the past decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.

In the past two seasons, promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points - the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.

Relegation battles are now mostly a fight to see who takes the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two accounted for long before the final day - often by promoted sides.

But inspired by the survival of Sunderland and Leeds, promoted trio Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City will all be hoping they have what it takes to match the competitiveness of the Premier League this season.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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"After the Lord Mayor's Show" is a phrase which may not be familiar to new Bournemouth boss Marco Rose, given he hails from Leipzig rather than London.

Or to put it another way, "How do you follow that?"

As the German prepares for his first competitive game in charge of the Cherries on Sunday, he will be aware that the Dorset club has been riding a wave of the most successful period in its history, prior to his arrival.

On the other hand, most new managers are thrown in at the deep end, with a club in disarray, its on-field struggles being the reason why a vacancy was created, which is not the case here.

After Rose's appointment was announced in April, he has had the luxury of a brief handover with his predecessor Andoni Iraola as the Spaniard led Bournemouth to the heady heights of sixth place and European qualification before departing.

Rose has inherited a reasonably settled squad, compared to the five big departures with which Iraola had to cope a year ago. Bournemouth's reputation for shrewd succession planning has continued in various areas, from the recruitment of Antonio Silva from Benfica to replace Tottenham-bound Marcos Senesi, to the appointment of former Cherries favourite Matt Ritchie to succeed Simon Francis as technical director.

While Silva has slotted into central defence already, less has been seen of fellow new recruits Alvaro Rodriguez and Juanlu Sanchez so far, and Rose's first challenge has been to cope with a handful of pre-season injuries, the most notable of which has ruled out last season's top scorer Eli Junior Kroupi for a few months.

Rose also inherits a record-breaking 18-match unbeaten run which will be put to the test at Manchester City on Sunday, at a venue where the Cherries have only ever tasted defeat.

But with the Europa League draw just over a week away, it promises to be a season like no other.

Explore Bournemouth content on BBC Sounds

Bournemouth's president of business operations Jim Frevola says the club "made a mistake" in the way they notified some members of their matchday team that their services would no longer be required for the 2026-27 season.

The club acknowledged the concerns in a statement, external last week, writing: "We have reviewed the way these changes were communicated and recognise that it did not reflect the standards we expect of ourselves as a club."

Frevola told BBC Radio Solent: "I woke up early on Saturday morning, saw the message on social media, immediately replied to it and called my team to find out the context of it.

"The reality is we just communicated poorly. It was literally four people that this was impacting so we should have picked the phone up and explained the situation.

"The email was just an error and our staff member who sent it feels terrible about it. Mistakes happen though, so we have assured that person that we will learn from this and move on."

Listen to the full conversation above or listen on BBC Sounds

Eli Junior Kroupi, Igor Thiago and Nico O'Reilly were among the breakout stars who made their mark on the Premier League last season - but who will be next?

BBC Sport's TV and radio commentators have picked 13 players they believe are worth watching out for over the next few months.

Bournemouth's Veljko Milosavljevic is on the list ...

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Name: Veljko Milosavljevic Age: 19 Position: Centre-back Country: Serbia

Tom Gayle: Bournemouth are renowned for their 'plug and play' approach to recruitment.

Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi arrived with low profiles and were all trusted with regular Premier League minutes before all three moved on in return for significant transfer fees.

Veljko Milosavljevic could be their latest defensive recruit to attempt to follow a similar trajectory.

I was at Vitality Stadium 11 months ago that the teenager made his debut in Bournemouth's 2-1 victory over Brighton. Before the match there was surprising honesty from then head coach Andoni Iraola, who told me he was unsure if Milosavljevic was ready for the Premier League.

The context was that Iraola had only worked with the youngster for just a couple of days because the defender had been away with Serbia's Under-21 team.

But he was ready, and made a further six top-flight appearances before suffering a knee injury in December's defeat by Everton, which remains his last Premier League outing.

Granted, it's a limited sample size, but his cameos provided clear evidence Milosavljevic possesses the technical ability and physicality required to earn more consistent game time.

A knock picked up during pre-season may mean a delayed start to the campaign but, fitness permitting, I'm excited at the prospect of seeing more of a man described as "one of the biggest talents of Serbian football" by media in his homeland.

Find the full list of possible breakout stars here

Fancy testing your football prediction skills? With the new season under way, BBC Sport has just the thing to keep you entertained every week.

After the success of our World Cup Predictor game, we've rebranded it for the club season as Match of the Day Predictor.

It's simple to play - just predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

And don't worry if you've joined late - players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Once you've submitted your predictions, you'll also be able to see what others think the outcome of the match will be.

Read more about it here

You can find the predictor in the navigation bar at the top of this page, or click here to play

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Everton are keen to sign English midfielder Marcus Tavernier, 27, from Bournemouth before the transfer window shuts. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Bournemouth concluded their pre-season campaign with a narrow 2-1 defeat by Mainz 05 in their final pre-season game on Saturday.

The hosts took the lead after 14 minutes in Germany before Evanilson drew the Cherries level five minutes before the break with a sharp finish from a long ball from summer signing Antonio Silva.

However, the Bundesliga side scored again late on to secure the victory. Marco Rose's side will now return to England to prepare for next Sunday's Premier League opener against Manchester City.

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"Things didn't always go the way I had hoped," wrote Bournemouth striker Enes Unal, external after securing a permanent move back to La Liga club Getafe.

The 29-year-old has left on a free transfer, although Bournemouth could receive up to £1.3m in bonuses as well as 20% of any future sale.

The low fee reflects an injury-hit spell in which he played about 900 minutes over the past three seasons, but the Cherries were also keen to reduce their wage bill.

Unal scored five goals in 58 appearances after joining from Getafe, initially on loan, in January 2024.

"I want to thank everyone at Bournemouth for the last few years," Unal posted on Instagram. "It has been a privilege to share the pitch with so many talented players and, more importantly, to meet and work with so many great people every day.

"Things didn't always go the way I had hoped but I can honestly say I gave everything I had, every single day, on and off the pitch.

"I always tried to represent this club in the best way possible and with the respect it deserves.

"I'm grateful to have been a small part of this club and its journey. Thank you for everything. I wish everyone at Bournemouth nothing but the best for the future."

The forward's exit will create an opportunity for 22-year-old Daniel Jebbison to establish himself in the first team, having impressed new boss Marco Rose in pre-season.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Bournemouth midfielder Mark Molesley believes forward Daniel Jebbison is "a great profile" for the Cherries.

The departure of striker Enes Unal could present an opportunity for Jebbison who joined Bournemouth on a free transfer in 2024 but has been on loan at Championship sides Watford and Preston North End in recent seasons.

"He's a great profile, he's a mobile target, a running number nine which everyone seems to want in their squad at the moment," Molesley told BBC Radio Solent.

"He's gone out and got some much-needed first team experience. The Championship is a tough league. The Premier League is obviously a step up but he's gone and got regular minutes and got a lot more experience."

On whether he was surprised that Bournemouth haven't brought in some more attacking options, with new signing Alvaro Rodriguez out injured and Eli Junior Kroupi ruled out for three months, Molesley said: "I don't know the ins and outs but with Europe on the horizon you know you are going to have more depth in the squad and get lucky with not picking up any more injuries.

"Maybe with Unal leaving, that might free something up. The recruitment team at Bournemouth don't usually hang around. They have got the next one lined up and ready to go. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out."

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It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.

In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.

In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.

Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.

Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.

Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.

An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.

Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.

Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.

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Bournemouth are celebrating the launch of their 2026-27 third kit with a unique art exhibition, external across 12 and 13 August, at which former Cherries goalkeeper David James will have his own painting on show.

Some 17 years ago Steve Fletcher scored the winning goal against Grimsby Town to secure Bournemouth's survival in the Football League, and James decided that was the big moment he wanted to capture for the showcase.

"I was asked if I would like to take part and I said if I can, then I have to paint Fletch," James told BBC Radio Solent before the exhibition.

"It's that goal against Grimsby basically. I just felt that needed to be represented because if that hadn't been scored then we would not be sitting here having this conversation I believe. Thanks to Fletch, and that memorable moment, I've been able to encapsulate it."

James also looked ahead to the new season and shared what he is expecting from new manager Marco Rose.

"I've seen the highlights from the Real Betis game and I think there's a lot to be excited for," James said. "I think there were some footballing styles there that I think Rose is going to put his own stamp on which I think everyone will expect.

"The players look more than capable of putting that style on for the supporters and given I'll be going to two of the first few games for Bournemouth this season, I'll be an expert before the international break. I expect a lot of good things this year."

Listen to the full chat above or on BBC Sounds here