Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe. (Getty Images)
According to a report by The Sun, Bournemouth are eyeing an ambitious double swoop to sign Jefferson Lerma and Diego Laxalt from Levante and Genoa respectively.
A record deal of £32million is understood to be on the table for Lerma, who plays as a central midfielder. Meanwhile, the Cherries are willing to pay a fee of £25million for Laxalt, who primarily plays as a left-winger but he played at left-back for his country. Both players featured for their respective countries in the recently concluded World Cup as well.
Lerma played a key role for Colombia as they enjoyed a good run in Russia until they lost to England during a penalty shoot-out.
Laxalt, on the other hand, was an exceptional performer for Uruguay in the South American side’s short-lived World Cup campaign. Nevertheless, it indeed seems like a brilliant and well-planned move by Eddie Howe, who must do everything he can to help the club break into the top-ten at least.
Bournemouth finished 13th last season which is quite mediocre. They did not impress or disappoint throughout the campaign as they were quite average.
However, the Cherries cannot afford to do the same next season as well. With newly-promoted sides like Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham in the mix, Bournemouth must work towards improving their squad to ensure they retain their Premier League status next year.
Wolves have a superb team filled with some of the best players while Fulham recently completed a coup by signing Jean-Michael Seri and Maxime Le Marchand.
As it is, Bournemouth will find it tough with the high-octane competition in the Premier League but with the addition of these two teams – and Cardiff City – the Cherries have quite a task at hand. To that end, bolstering their ranks with Lerma and Laxalt seems like a brilliant move.
Lerma is an extremely powerful midfielder who is capable of contributing equally on both fronts. He can protect the backline as well as supply some key passes and crosses for the attackers to capitalize on. Laxalt, on the other hand, is quite versatile.
He can play on the left-wing as well as left-back, meaning Howe will enjoy tactical flexibility with him in the squad. The deal does seem pricey but it will prove to be worth it. And right now, Bournemouth need all the firepower they can muster.
