The Unexpected: AFC Bournemouth Most Active Club this Summer

AFC Bournemouth will make their debut in the Premier League this upcoming season. (Credit: Chris Parker -- Flickr Creative Commons)
AFC Bournemouth will make their debut in the Premier League this upcoming season. (Credit: Chris Parker -- Flickr Creative Commons)

Welcome to a new series at We Are Hooligans, that will take a look at some of the most unexpected events or outcomes in the Premier League. The weekly series will take a look at some “unexpected” numbers, much like today’s article.

With the month of June almost complete, the Premier League’s Summer Transfer Window is in full swing. While most of England’s biggest clubs — Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, etc. — have stolen the headlines, its the Premier League’s newest member that has been doing the most work.

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With six signings already this summer, the Cherries are poised to be the busiest club in all of the Premier League. What makes that fact even more impressive and unexpected is the fact that this club is preparing for it’s Premier League debut.

Signings include Kenwyne Jones, Artur Boruc, Adam Federici, Joshua King, Christian Atsu and Tyrone Mings. In fact the £8 million fee payed for the 22-year old is a club record. Rescued from administration back in 2008-2009, the Cherries have managed an impressive climb from the bottom of League Two.

Seven years after the club was almost relegated from the English Football League, AFC Bournemouth are now set to join the big boys in the Premier League. Another statistic that makes the number of deals Bournemouth has pulled off this summer look impressive is the size of their stadium.

The Cherries current stadium — Dean Court — has a capacity of 11,700. The capacity is easily the smallest in the Premier League history, making match day revenue much harder to come by compared to their Premier League peers.

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A club in this type of situation makes the Cherries moves this summer even more shocking. If the current pace of moves continues, AFC Bournemouth may be taking the pitch next season with an entirely new first team roster. One piece that will remain however is Eddie Howe.

During his two stints with the Cherries, Eddie Howe has led the club to three promotions and the clubs first ever championship. Finishing first in the English Championship last season, AFC Bournemouth officially claimed their first piece of silverware, making this upcoming season even more special.

The expectations of the club will not be high. The club will be playing for the first time in the Premier League, making this a learn as you go experience for everyone involved with the club. Avoiding relegation will make this upcoming season a huge success for the club as many have already marked them as relegation candidates.

However, AFC Bournemouth have already pulled off one unexpected thing this year as the club leads all Premier League clubs in number of incoming transfers. I wouldn’t put it past the Cherries to surprise everybody and find themselves making this list multiple times this season.

Next: Arsenal to Break Bank for Higuain