Newcastle United have signed 28 year-old England forward Callum Wilson for a fee in the region of £20m from AFC Bournemouth. Wilson will link up with former Cherries’ teammate and Scotland international Ryan Fraser, the Scot completed his move to the North East after becoming a free agent when his contract expired at the end of last season.

Aston Villa had tabled a bid of £21m for Wilson but the offer was retracted after it became clear he was only interested in signing for Steve Bruce’s Newcastle. Fraser’s signing is believed to be crucial in attracting Wilson and the two will hope to replicate their scintillating form from the 2018/19 season. Wilson scored 14 goals in the Premier League whilst Fraser contributed towards 21 goals ( 7 goals, 14 assists), the most of any Bournemouth player that year.

The Exodus…

Newly appointed head coach Jason Tindall recently said that there would be no “fire sale” of players, but after the sales of Nathan Ake, Aaron Ramsdale and now Callum Wilson his words look a little empty.

Ake was the first player out the door, signing for former Premier League champions Manchester City in a deal worth £41m, ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale was then sold to Sheffield United for £18.5m and now Wilson’s transfer to Newcastle is making Tindall look like he is going back on his words. 

Wilson has scored 67 goals in 187 appearances for Bournemouth, earning himself 4 England caps in the process. His goals and work rate will be sorely missed on the South coast leaving another gap to fill, in what is looking like a very small squad ahead of their Championship opener with Blackburn this Saturday.

Bournemouth are waking up to the reality of relegation from the Premier League as they look to balance their books. Club captain Simon Francis along with midfielder Andrew Surman have been released after their contracts expired, the former being offered a coaching role but has yet to make a decision on his future. 

Francis has played 324 games in all competitions for Bournemouth and was vital in their promotion to the Premier League, Surman has played 226 times for the club and was also vital in helping them gain promotion. Both players have been key in the club’s recent successes and leave Tindall with a tough job to rebuild the heart and soul of the club, after being ripped apart in just over a month.

Premier League legacy and bouncebackability!

Recent financial figures show Bournemouth last turned a profit back in 2017 and recorded losses of upto £30m in 2019 alone, their subsequent relegation and the financial instability created by the COVID-19 outbreak will likely put an extra strain on the club’s finances.

Bournemouth return to the Championship without having built a new stadium and with work on their luxury £35m training complex halted, the club’s Premier League legacy is hard to see. Selling off all their best assets will help to keep them financially secure but it will make any chance of a return to the top flight extremely difficult.

The Championship is notoriously tough and Tindall will have his work cut out – now more than ever!! Key players keep leaving with more to possibly follow. David Brooks, Joshua King and Adam Smith are all attracting interest from Premier League clubs and could yet leave the Dorset based club. 

Tindall and his backroom room staff will no doubt be looking to rebuild the squad and push for promotion back to the Premier League. So far recruitment has been all one way at The Vitality Stadium, only former Cherry Matt Ritchie has attracted any attention from Tindall thus far, but no formal offer has been made.

Asmir Begovic and Harry Arter return from season long loans at AC Milan and Fulham respectively and should slot straight into Tindall’s squad, both are more than capable of performing in the Championship and will be crucial in any rebuilding.

The transfer window remains open until early October but with a heavy fixture list to navigate Tindall will need to reinforce his squad soon if he has any real expectation to compete at the top end of the league.

The Cherries need to hit the ground running as a poor start can throw any chance of promotion out the window and supporters will fear the worse if the club starts to head in the wrong direction. Challenging times lay ahead and Bournemouth fans will hope that the powers that be know what they are doing!

Written by Andy Jones