In July 2023, AFC Bournemouth completed one of the more bizarre signings in the club’s history.
For a club, that has spent the vast majority of its history in the lower leagues of English football, bouncing around the third and fourth tier’s and occasionally flirting with the second tier until a decade ago, the thought of spending €15million on a former France Under-21 international and getting him to agree a “long-term deal with the club”, reportedly keeping him contracted to the Cherries until the summer of 2028 would be something to celebrate.
But this signing didn’t get a big fanfare. There was no club interview for Romain Faivre who had joined from Olympique Lyonnais, there were no photos holding a scarf or a shirt, just a short brief announcement on afcb.co.uk, that he had signed and had immediately departed the club on loan.
He would join Ligue 1 side Lorient, the French club who are part-owned by AFC Bournemouth’s American owner Bill Foley.
It was reported at the time that Lorient would pay his wages during the duration of his loan deal as well as paying a fee, leaving a minimal outlay for AFC Bournemouth during the first year of the deal.
The 25-year-old has made 17 appearances in Ligue 1 this season (including 16 starts) and has scored 5 goals and claimed 1 assist in those games.
Overall he is the leading goalscorer in a struggling Lorient side.
Les Merlus find themselves, second from bottom and 4 points adrift of safety, having won just twice in 17 games and losing six of their last 8 games.
According to footmercato.net, AFC Bournemouth are now considering recalling Romain Faivre and integrating him into the Cherries squad sooner rather than later.
However, the same report, according to Google Translate at least, suggests that Faivre would prefer to remain in France for the remainder of the season.
🚨EXCL: 🟠🇫🇷 #Ligue1 |
◉ Bournemouth est tenté de casser son prêt dès cet hiver pour le récupérer et ainsi renforcer son milieu de terrain.
◉ Une idée qui n’est pas sans déplaire au joueur qui n’est pas fermé à un départ.
Avec @HanifBerkanehttps://t.co/bbp6MzK1SS pic.twitter.com/7GknRuDIHP
— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) January 4, 2024
Your say…
red_house said…
I saw him in the pre-season friendly and thought he was excellent, their stand-out player by far, very composed and direct. – To join the conversation, click here.
