Will club record fee hinder Lerma?
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AFC Bournemouth defender Steve Cook has questioned whether the fact that the Cherries have broken their transfer record to land Jefferson Lerma from Levante will hinder him in any way.
Players are often judged on the size of their transfer fees and AFC Bournemouth made three eight-figure signings this summer alone.
David Brooks made the move from Sheffield United to the Cherries for a reported fee of £10million.
Diego Rico joined AFC Bournemouth from Leganés for a reported fee of £10.7million.
AFC Bournemouth then doubled their spending to sign Jefferson Lerma for £25 million.
Lerma follows big signings Nathan Ake for £20million, Jordon Ibe for £15million, Benik Afobe for £10million and Tyrone Mings for £8million, all of which have held the tag as AFC Bournemouth’s most expensive player since promotion to the top flight of English football.
As Cook highlights, it gives a strange balance to the side when the new signings have all made the move to Dean Court for big eye-watering fees, whilst the squad that came up from the football league came for more modest fees.
Cook told the Daily Echo…
“It is amazing we are being linked with a £25m player and just shows how far the club has come.
“It wasn’t long ago we were paying £4,000 for Harry Arter and £25,000 for Simon Francis. They are two of the best signings the club has ever made and are both still here.
“It is certainly a lot of money and you just hope that talking about the fee will not hinder him in any way. It is about how you perform on the pitch, not how much you cost…”
“…For me, it is all about the team continuing to grow and players continuing to improve. If we do that, we will be in for another good season…”
Your say…
horndean_exile wrote…
Assuming Lerma gets picked for all/most Columbia games anyone got any estimates of how many games we likely to lose him for and when? Not sure how much overlap the South American internationals have with the Premiership season. – Join the conversation, click here.
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