The way ahead for Bournemouth

Bournemouth are still not a major cash generator. The Vitality Stadium has a capacity of 11,307 and when it comes to commercial revenue, according to Deloitte’s annual football review, Manchester City generated 30 times more revenue (£347m) than the South Coast club (£13m), which was the lowest in the league. For context, outside of the ‘Big Six’, the average commercial income was £31m.

So how were Bournemouth able to pull off a deal to sign Evanilson for £47m?

Bournemouth have spent eight of the last 10 seasons in the Premier League, and they are upwardly mobile. The club have new ownership, an American consortium led by Bill Foley who took charge in 2022, and Foley has spoken of European qualification within five years.

For Bournemouth specifically, being able to commit £40million on a striker seems only possible because of the sale of Dominic Solanke. He joined Tottenham last week for a club-record fee of £65million. That covers the guaranteed aspect of the deal for Evanilson almost twice over.

But it is not a given that Bournemouth would invest that income. They have already spent big elsewhere. Across the past three transfer windows, they have invested almost £200million in the squad (including Evanilson’s deal). There have not been many outgoings to offset that, notwithstanding Solanke’s exit.

It is on the one hand a reflection of the club’s current ambition. But also highlights that investments of this size can be a delicate balance. Bournemouth are reliant on broadcast revenue. Their matchday and commercial revenue pales in comparison. Last season, the club finished 12th in the Premier League and that roughly equates to £28million in merit payments from the Premier League. That is added to £88m awarded in central payments, and then around £10.2m in ‘facility fees’, which is essentially how often Bournemouth were shown on TV.  That forms the bulk of their income, which in 2022-23 was £141m, a record amount.

The owners are trying to diversify and bolster their off-field income. They have increased hospitality offerings at the club and are committed to constructing a new stadium. That is once the new training ground at Canford Magna, north west of Bournemouth, fully opens (the proposed new stadium would be on the site of their current training ground.) They are also openly constructing a multi-club model with Bournemouth as the flagship. 

In the meantime, the club need to follow a model aligned with fellow south-coast club Brighton, which entails investing in young talent that can be sold for profit. That requires an astute eye for talent and the evidence of the past two seasons, which has seen consecutive mid-table finishes of 15th and 12th, point to a club moving in the right direction.