As January transfer windows go, this one was a quiet one for most Premier League clubs, Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) otherwise known as Financial Fair Play (FFP) have left most clubs trying to do business with one hand tied behind their back.
For AFC Bournemouth a key target since the summer has been to improve their options up front. The Cherries began the 2023/24 campaign heavily reliant on Dominic Solanke, something that has been proven in the Premier League statistics thus far this season.
Solanke has now netted 13 times this season and claimed one assist, his goal involvement includes over 48% of AFC Bournemouth’s Premier League goals this season. That dependency isn’t healthy, with potential fatigue, injuries or suspensions leaving the Cherries looking elsewhere for goals.
In the summer, the target was Leicester City striker Patson Daka. The deal would then have seen Kieffer Moore make a loan move, potentially to Millwall, however, a deal could not be completed and so AFC Bournemouth began the campaign with Solanke as the clear striking option with Kieffer Moore and Antoine Semenyo as potential backup options.
The January transfer window opened and AFC Bournemouth was always likely to revisit this area of recruitment, especially considering the rumours and transfer links involving Dominic Solanke with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur. But a deal had to wait until transfer deadline day, to enable all the dominos to fall into place.
In the end, AFC Bournemouth landed 26-year-old Türkiye international Enes Ünal from Spanish La Liga side Getafe and Kieffer Moore got his loan to the Championship, moving to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the season.
BREAKING: Bournemouth have completed a deal to sign striker Enes Unal on an initial loan deal from Getafe 🍒
The deal includes an obligation to buy for £14m ⬇️pic.twitter.com/8NN6nwYSdq
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 1, 2024
Always room for Moore. ✊ pic.twitter.com/l55lfNqCa8
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) February 1, 2024
The deal for Enes Ünal according to many reports, including Sky Sports is the deal is officially a loan deal for the remainder of the season. However, AFC Bournemouth have an obligation to make the move a permanent one in the summer for £14 million.
The 6ft 2″ striker came through the Bursaspor youth team in Türkiye before making the move to England in 2015 to join Manchester City as an 18-year-old, he didn’t make a single appearance for Manchester City, but would go out on loan to Belgium and Netherlands with Genk, NAC Breda and FC Twente. During these loan spells he scored 29 goals in 61 appearances in all competitions.
In 2017 Ünal made the move to Spain joining La Liga side Villarreal for £12 million. He scored 5 goals in 31 appearances before joining Levante on loan where he added another goal to his tally in a further 7 appearances for the 2017/18 season.
The following campaign saw another loan move in Spain, this time to Real Valladolid where he would spend the next two seasons on loan, making 71 appearances and scoring 14 times.
This prompted a permanent switch to Getafe in 2020, where over three and a bit seasons he has scored 36 goals in 109 appearances in all competitions.
Enes Ünal certainly knows where the net is 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TLdEnBGFc2
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) February 1, 2024
AFC Bournemouth’s chief executive Neill Blake told afcb.co.uk…
“We’re really pleased to welcome Enes to the club and believe he’ll add strength to our front line.
“He’s proven that he can score goals in multiple different countries, and we believe he’s got the skillset to succeed in the Premier League.”
"He'll be ready for sure to help us from day one" 💬
Andoni Iraola is delighted to get the signing of Enes Ünal completed 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZXr36d1SMh
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) February 1, 2024
Your say…
infernaldesolation said…
Turk here. If you got him as a back up striker, he’ll flop. He needs regular playing time because he wants to be in the Euro 2024 squad. He would thrive with Solanke in a convenient tactic but he’ll probably end up subbing in for the last 15-20 mins and have 2 goals by the end of the season.
He never fully met the expectations from him both in club teams and national teams. I’m not sure if he turns out to be a more prolific striker one day but I always thought he’d be better off in either Italian or Spanish leagues, England is not a good match for him. If his deal is permanent, he should be used as a first choice and given patience and time. I don’t know if you have any of those. – To join the conversation, click here.
