AFC Bournemouth announced last week that Jaidon Anthony has signed a contract extension with the Cherries.
In, what is fair to say have been protracted contract negotiations, the 23-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract to remain on the south coast.
Anthony, along with his partner down the left flank Jordan Zemura had been reportedly in negotiations over a new contract since the pair burst onto the first-team scene at the start of the 2021/22 Championship campaign under former head coach Scott Parker.
As early as October 2021, frustrations over the pair not signing new contracts had started to grow with Parker demanding that new contracts were agreed upon immediately or talks postponed indefinitely.
sorry for the wait, da ting is signed🤝 pic.twitter.com/40C1y60PzW
— Jaidon Anthony (@JaidonnA11) February 10, 2023
Their contracts were set to expire at the end of the 2021/22 season, but following promotion to the Premier League and despite failing to agree on new terms, the Cherries opted to trigger a clause in the pair’s deal that would extend their contracts for another calendar year.
This meant that both Anthony and Zemura’s contracts were set to expire in the summer of 2023.
Zemura’s situation remains unresolved, but with Anthony’s short-term future now confirmed, this will be something to buoy the Dean Court faithful.
AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake told afcb.co.uk…
“We are delighted Jaidon has signed this new contract and we look forward to continue working with him.
“As a club, we are determined to keep our best young players and this is Jaidon’s reward for all the hard work he has done for us.
“He is an exciting player who we feel will only continue to develop and he has shown he can perform in the Premier League, the best and most competitive league in the world.”
Hear from the man himself 🎤@JaidonnA11 with afcbTV ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tteDTMtuk2
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) February 10, 2023
Anthony made his debut for AFC Bournemouth in December 2020 as a 71st-minute substitute in a 3-2 home defeat against Preston North End in the Championship.
He made six additional substitute appearances during that 2020/21 campaign, however, he didn’t have to wait long to make his first full debut, starting in the Football League Cup match that kicked off the following season beating the side from Stadium:MK, 5-0.
Less than a week later he made his Football League debut in the 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
Anthony would go on to enjoy his breakthrough season, scoring 8 times and claiming 7 assists in 45 Championship appearances (38 starts).
So far this season Anthony has made his Premier League debut and scored 3 goals in 17 appearances (7 starts).
Your say…
Allen said…
Massive! hopefully that lifts the atmosphere a bit. Jaidon Anthony seems to have the best connection with the fans. He stepped up and hasn’t looked out of place last season or this season, his goals and contributions don’t get as much attention as they deserve (a bit like Marc Pugh throughout our rise from league One).
Our team next season is going to be ridiculously good and exciting to watch.
kirsikka added…
This is excellent news. I was one that was convinced he and Jordan Zemura already had something lined up elsewhere so great that we’ve managed to get him to agree to a new deal.
I guess it’s always possible there was a deal lined up at another club, but new AFC Bournemouth owner Bill Foley’s money means we could now match or better it and he was more confident in the long-term prospects here with other signings arriving.
Equally, it might have been his agent trying to play hardball and force us into a salary we didn’t want to offer but that would have been less than the cost of replacing him. Suddenly we’ve shown we have the money to buy replacements so a deal was agreed.
Whatever, I’m happy he’s committed and look forward to watching him develop further. When it comes down to it, football is about scoring goals but not all players have the knack for it. He does. He’ll be a valuable part of the team. – To join the conversation, click here.
