Bournemouth

As the dust settles on this Premier League campaign, we asked former England international Fara Williams for her underrated XI for the season.

She selected Ryan Christie of Bournemouth as part of her midfield.

In an exceptional season from Andoni Iraola's side, Christie has probably been the key man in how they play.

He is accomplished on the ball but absolutely vital off it. Pressing is such an important feature in Iraola's style of play and Christie is the main man in of initiating, dictating and controlling that high press.

He has also been very adaptable, and really adapted his game this year. He is the unsung hero that every good team needs. In what can be quite a chaotic and high-intensity team, he brings a level of control that is vital.

Christie doesn't score many goals which may be why he doesn't get the same headlines as the likes of Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo, but he is such an important figure.

Christie made 29 appearances for Bournemouth this season, scoring two goals and assisting two more. He was named the Cherries player of the season and ers' player of the season.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

The transfer window opens on Sunday - albeit for 10 days initially, mainly so sides competing in the Club World Cup can get early business done - before reopening for the rest of the summer on 16 June.

Dean Huijsen has already confirmed his departure from Vitality Stadium, but are there certain players you are desperate for Bournemouth to sign, or an area of the squad that needs improving? Or maybe holding on to other key players is your biggest priority.

And what about sales - who needs to go?

So over to you... what names need bringing in and shipping out?

Let us know here

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Crystal Palace wing-back Daniel Munoz ranked second in distance covered (242 miles) last season and he also made the most sprints in the Premier League with 907.

Bryan Mbeumo and Milos Kerkez also rank highly, just behind Fulham's American speedster Antonee Robinson.

Newcastle's Anthony Gordon completes the top five.

While Gordon ranked fifth for sprints overall across the season, he sprinted more often than any other player, averaging 29 sprints per 90 minutes.

What's in a name? Well if the name's Anthony (or Antonee) then it is sprinting, with Gordon, Elanga and Robinson all in the top five.

Munoz is here again, coming in at fourth, behind Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson.

Image source, Getty Images

The BBC's Ask Me Anything team have done all of the research ahead of the announcement detailing next season's Premier League matches.

The fixtures for the 2025-26 season will be released at 09:00 BST on Wednesday, 18 June 2025 and the release will include the weekly schedule of all 380 matches.

The season will begin with a single fixture played on Friday, 15 August 2025 and conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all matches will be played at 16:00 BST. There will be 33 weekend rounds of fixtures, plus five midweek rounds.

The exact date and time at which individual matches are played during each weekend will be determined at regular intervals throughout the season, based on TV selections made by broadcasters.

Read the full article here

Bournemouth full-back Milos Kerkez has already agreed to Liverpool and there no concerns over personal for the 21-year-old Hungary international. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Dean Huijsen says he has "made friends for life" at Bournemouth in a farewell interview before his £50m move to Real Madrid.

The 20-year-old ed the Cherries from Juventus last summer for a fee of £12.6m and has impressed in central defence as Andoni Iraola's side recorded their best top-flight points total.

"It is been a great year," he told AFCBTV., external "It is due to everyone at the club - the staff, the directors, coaches, everyone working in the background. We made it happen.

"Everyone at the end of their career will part of history at a club or something special like a record. I'll definitely that."

Huijsen was voted Bournemouth players' player of the season by his team-mates, who he also paid tribute to.

"The dressing room is great," he added. "We enjoy our time together and it is a great team.

"I have good memories to look back on and I have definitely made friends for life."

On working with Iraola, Hujsen added: "Everyone has seen how I've developed this season and I'm excited to learn more.

"He's a great trainer and I'm very grateful and very thankful to him."

As a final goodbye to the Bournemouth fans, he said: "Thank you for everything. I'll always cherish these moments we had together. I will always them and I hope that I made them happy."

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

By just about any mathematical metric you choose, 2024-25 must go down as the Cherries' most successful season of all time, shattering a number of club records.

Most Premier League points (56, beating previous record of 48). t highest league position (ninth). Most PL wins (15). Fewest PL defeats (12). Most PL goals (58). Fewest PL goals conceded (46). Best PL goal difference (+12, a gargantuan improvement from the previous best of -12).

Fans travelling up and down the country have witnessed the most away wins in a Bournemouth top-flight season (seven), most away points (28), fewest away defeats (five, only bettered by Liverpool and Arsenal this season), most away goals scored (35, previous best 27) and fewest away goals conceded (30).

And that is just the stats.

See below for part two.

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Emotionally, the 2024-25 season has been a rollercoaster.

Having lost star striker Dominic Solanke to Tottenham mere days before the start of the season, few foresaw Andoni Iraola's side picking up even more points, and scoring more goals, than in the Spaniard's debut campaign in 2023-24.

The Cherries even unearthed their own galactico in teenage defender Dean Huijsen, rapidly elevated to the Spain national team before a £50m move to Real Madrid beckoned.

It was a season of outrageous late comebacks, befitting a team who scored more goals in stoppage time after the 90th minute (nine) than any other.

The gung-ho late smash-and-grab at Ipswich. Evanilson's 96th-minute equaliser at Villa Park with the last kick of the game, denying Villa two (retrospectively) priceless points. And the unbelievable heist at Goodison Park, trailing 2-0 going into the 87th minute and coming away with a 3-2 victory to surely win Bournemouth the Premier League's 'Most Improbable Comeback' award for the third successive year.

Dragons were slain. The previously unconquerable Manchester City were finally beaten as the sides met for the 21st time in league football. Arsenal were beheaded twice, both at Vitality Stadium and in a maiden victory at Emirates Stadium. Manchester United were routed 3-0 at Old Trafford for the second successive season.

Indeed, the Cherries were only beaten by more than the odd goal three times all season – two of which were to champions Liverpool.

Then there were the hat-tricks...

Read below for the final part

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Then there were the hat-tricks.

Makeshift striker Dango Ouattara starred in a 5-0 rout of Nottingham Forest, which ultimately improved the goal difference enough to pip Brentford to ninth place.

And Justin Kluivert hit two trebles on the road, with a historic hat-trick of penalties at Wolves, before gunning down Newcastle to score more league goals at St James' Park in one game than his father Patrick managed in an entire season on Tyneside.

In context, that 4-1 win at Newcastle on 18 January was the champagne moment of an unforgettable season. The Magpies went into that game on a run of nine successive wins, being talked about as title contenders, with Alexander Isak on a red-hot streak of 11 goals in his past eight league games.

Iraola could only name a patched-up XI with players out of position and a threadbare bench of development squad players, the six outfield subs boasting only four substitute league appearances for the Cherries between them. The omens were not good for the fans who had left their homes in the early hours to make the longest journey of the season for a Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

But those fans were treated to a breathtaking performance to live long in the memory. Isak did not get a kick. Even some Newcastle diehards I spoke to after the game hailed it as the best away performance they had seen at St James' Park in years.

Off the field, the Cherries have a new state-of-the-art training ground – and owner Bill Foley chose its opening ceremony to announce that a deal had been reached to buy back Vitality Stadium, which had been sold and leased back two decades earlier when the financial wolves were circling.

Two years ago, Foley promised European football within five years. While a top-seven place was tantalisingly out of reach in 2024-25, this Bournemouth team have made a habit of shattering glass ceilings - and they are not done just yet.

We asked you to select your Bournemouth player of the season from the four candidates chosen by our fan contributor.

And with the poll now closed, we can reveal the winner is... Ryan Christie!

Here's what Tom Jordan at Back of the Net, external said about him:

Christie is the man who makes Bournemouth tick - the unsung hero of the side, if you will.

As the key cog in the Cherries' aggressive press, it has been evident when Ryan has been out of the side. A machine for Andoni Iraola's men.

See the final poll breakdown

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes covered the most ground this season, running 261 miles (St James' Park to Wembley is 271 miles).

He retains the award after racking up 263 miles in the competition last season.

Josko Gvardiol, Daniel Munoz, Bryan Mbeumo and Milos Kerkez complete the top five for most distance covered across the Premier League season.

Taking time on the pitch into (out of players that played over half the available minutes), Guimaraes was pipped by Newcastle team-mate in the list by team-mate Sandro Tonali who covered more ground per 90 minutes than the Brazilian…although Bruno still ran 7.2 miles per 90 minutes!

Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski ran harder than any other player this season, covering 7.7 miles per 90 minutes on average.

West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek ran an average of 7.5 miles per 90 minutes, while Manchester City's Bernardo Silva (7.3) and Brighton's Yasin Ayari complete the top five.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Bournemouth and Tottenham were the most physical teams in the Premier League this season when considering the distance they covered and the number of sprints performed.

The results might explain why they had a lot of injuries.

Newcastle and Brighton were not too far behind though, with Brighton actually covering the most ground in the league, with fewer sprints.

Chelsea and Liverpool's style of play saw them sprint a lot but not cover a lot of ground, while Manchester City and Arsenal were the opposite (ran a lot but didn't sprint a lot).

Nottingham Forest very much had their own style of play this season as they both ran and sprinted the least.

Tom Jordan
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Season Rating: 9/10. It has been a remarkable season for the Cherries, all in all. The club set a new Premier League points record for themselves, as well as equalling their best finish with ninth place. A trophy or European qualification away from a 10/10 score.

Happy with your manager? "Happy" would be a serious understatement. Andoni Iraola has brought full throttle attacking football to Bournemouth, as well as gaining big results and unforgettable memories. We're not sure how long we can keep hold of Andoni, but we're thankful we have him for now and will continue to enjoy the master at work.

Unsung hero: Simply has to be Ryan Christie. Having won the ers' player of the season, the fans clearly don't see him as "unsung", but it feels like the wider footballing media overlook just how vital he is. He may not always get the numbers in of goals and assists, but Ryan is the key cog in the way Andoni wants the side to play. He is relentless.

Player you would most like to sign: The club will need to add a centre-back following Dean Huijsen's departure, but with Zabarnyi and Senesi having proven that they can perform well consistently, I think another young centre-back with potential would be best. Nathan Zeze is a 19-year-old at Nantes, and would come with a lot of promise, so that would do nicely for me.

Right now, my overriding emotion from the season is: Pride, so much pride. The club continue to defy the odds and give us fans such incredible moments. Whenever it feels as if we've hit our limit as a club, we go again. Ridiculously proud of every one of them for going toe to toe and exchanging blows with many footballing giants.

Do you agree with Tom's answers? Pick one or two categories and send your views

Find more from Tom Jordan at Back of the Net, external

Image source, Getty Images

Here's my quick assessment of Bournemouth's Premier League season - and a return to my August predictions.

Ended the season: 9th

Pre-season prediction: 14th

They faded towards the end of the season after threatening the European places, but even this is the sign of the new standards and aspirations at Vitality Stadium.

Bournemouth have a coveted manager in Andoni Iraola. If they can keep him away from other clubs' clutches, they have a platform for progress. They will need to replace defender Dean Huijsen, who is off to Real Madrid in a £50m deal, while left-back Milos Kerkez is expected to make a £40m move to Liverpool.

Like Brighton, they usually have a plan in hand should other clubs come calling for their players - and those two gs alone show why the Cherries are now fixtures in the top flight.

What I said in August: "Could be anxious times ahead but expect the Cherries, under Iraola, to survive."

Read my assessments of the other 19 teams here

John Acres
BBC Final Score reporter at Vitality Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

It was a game with nothing on it, a dead rubber, but I for one will never forget Dean Huijsen's farewell to Boscombe.

The Dutch-born Spain international is off to Real Madrid after just one season at the Vitality Stadium after they triggered his release clause of £50 million.

The 20-year-old was left out of the starting line up for their final game against Leicester, but was given an incredible ovation when he was introduced as a substitute in the second half.

Antoine Semenyo's second goal with a crunching challenge on the edge of the Leicester penalty area, a fitting contribution in his final minutes as a Bournemouth player.

Huijsen was handed the microphone as the players thanked the fans after full-time: "It's been a really special year, I'd like to thank the staff and all the people working here, the directors, Andoni, and the group, it's such a great group," he said.

"I just tried to do my best and work hard, and they really helped me."

He then led the fans in one last chant of "Deano again Ole Ole" g off with "Up the Cherries".

I cannot wait to see how his career unfolds with Los Blancos. I can see him becoming a club legend.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts on Bournemouth's performance against Leicester on the final day and their season as a whole.

Here are some of your comments:

Paul: Comfortable win in the end against a very weak Leicester team. Tyler Adams a rock in midfield again! Great season overall, although we need to get back to making Vitality Stadium a fortress. Losses to Wolves, Brentford and Ipswich down the stretch really hurt us. Hopefully we don't lose too many players but recruitment has been excellent the past couple of years. Looking forward to next season already!

Paul: Delighted to end the season on a high. Cracking double from Antoine. Come on, my beautiful Cherries.

Ian: They did amazingly well to match their highest finish in the Premier League, but with the highest ever points tally. With seven first-team players out with injury for most of the season, they did incredibly well, and I am so proud of them. I've ed AFC Bournemouth since I was three years old - I'm 62 now, and this current Cherries team is the best ever, if you don't include the seasons when Ted McDougal played for them! Well done, lads, you were brilliant, and I'm sure you'll get into Europe one day. Keep the faith!

Jack: Up the Cherries! They deserved the win.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's 10 final day Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea

• Liverpool 1-1 Crystal Palace

• Wolves 1-1 Brentford

Image source, Getty Images

Andoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Bournemouth's victory against Leicester: "We had to be patient because we were all over them creating chances. Even when we scored I haven't understood the decision of disallowing that goal. Then you think maybe we are not going to score but we were arriving a lot but luckily we scored a couple and in the end got the win."

On Antoine Semenyo scoring: "I'm very happy because he has been pushing all season. He has been playing a lot of minutes, we've needed him a lot. I think he deserves the reward of scoring two goals in a good way."

On the season and breaking records: "Very satisfied. I think it has been a very enjoyable season. It's true we don't have a prize or reward in the end but I think it's been the best season for the club, more points, more goals, less goals conceded. More importantly, the feeling that we can compete in this league. We will have to do it again because next season will be even harder."

Hear from Iraola on BBC Sounds