Bournemouth are set to complete the signing of midfielder Romain Faivre and will subsequently send him out on loan for a season.
The Cherries have agreed a deal with French club Olympique Lyonnais worth around €15 million for the Frenchman and they are set to send Faivre out on loan to FC Lorient, where he spent the previous 6 months.
Faivre impressed many with his impressive performances for the Ligue 1 side in his short spell at the club. He scored 5 goals in 17 appearances for the club while playing in an attacking midfield role and also as a right winger.
The Frenchman started his youth career at Tours FC before switching over to AS Monaco’s junior side. He made his debut for the senior team in 2018. Faivre then joined Stade Brestois in 2020 where he burst onto the scene playing over 60 games for the club in a 2 year period.
In 2022, He joined Lyon and was loaned out to Lorient in the January of 2023 and captured the attention of many across Europe. Faivre has also represented France at the U21 level on 8 occasions.
After completing the signing, the potential loan back to Lorient is enabled due to the close connections between the two clubs. Bill Foley, who is the owner of Bournemouth after recently completing a £150 million takeover, also owns a 33% stake in FC Lorient.
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As a result, the Cherries will loan their latest acquisition to the French club and allow him to complete his development before incorporating him into the squad in the 2024/25 season.
This signing showcases the change in Bournemouth’s intent as they are now focussing on building a sustainable future for the club under new ownership. Faivre is expected to bring his versatility and improved skills to the team in a year’s time.
The hierarchy recently raised a few eyebrows after their decision to fire head coach Gary O’Neil, who helped them finish 14th on their return to the Premier League. Rumours that the Englishman had been fired over a phone call had angered a few fans as well.
But the bosses at the Vitality believed that even though O’Neil was able to fight off relegation after going on a super run in the later stages of the season, the team did not perform at a high enough level consistently throughout the season as a whole.
Hence, Bournemouth soon hired Andoni Iraola to replace the outgoing boss and have already signed winger Justin Kluivert and midfielder Hamed Junior Traore to help the Spaniard in his goal of revolutionising the club.
