Last Thursday, Bournemouth confirmed the club-record signing of Jordon Ibe from Liverpool for a fee believed to be £15 million.
The 20-year-old has penned a four-year contract with the Cherries, and should help fill the void left by Matt Ritchie’s departure to Newcastle United.
Speaking to the club’s official website about the significant addition, Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake believes the signing illustrates the club’s ambition to establish themselves as a Premier League side:
“He played plenty of football with Liverpool last season and we’re looking forward to seeing him to continue to grow now with us, he’s a huge prospect… It shows that we’re serious about nurturing talent at this football club and we have the long term in mind when we say we want to stay in the Premier League.”
Ibe, meanwhile, was keen to cite Howe’s style of play as key to his decision to roll up at Dean Court:
“I like the philosophy the manager has got here and there are a lot of good, young players so it’s a good place for me to kick on and do well. The team play the same style of football as Brendan Rogers used to play at Liverpool, which is something that I like…this is a great opportunity for me to help take another step in my career and develop as a player.”
The History
Born in Bermondsey, London, Ibe joined the Charlton Athletic academy at the age of eight, before linking up with Wycombe Wanderers four years later after being released by the Addicks. He made his professional debut for Wycombe in a League Cup tie against Colchester United in August 2011 aged just 15 years and 244 days old. In total, Ibe made 10 appearances for the Chairboys, before moving to Liverpool for an undisclosed fee in December 2011.
He initially joined up with the club’s U18 squad, before making his Premier League debut in a 1-0 victory over QPR in May 2013, where he assisted Philippe Coutinho’s winner.
With first-team opportunities limited at Anfield, Ibe spent a loan spell at Championship side Birmingham City towards the end of the 2013/14 season and bagged a goal and assist over 11 appearances.
The wide man was then sent on loan to fellow Championship side Derby County at the start of the 2014/15 campaign, scoring five goals and registering one assist in 24 matches for the Rams.
Although Ibe has been handed several opportunities to impress for the Reds over the last 18 months, he’s never quite been able to nail down a regular starting spot, and he leaves Anfield having made 58 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring four goals and notching seven assists.
Ibe’s quality has earned him international recognition, though, having represented England at every youth level from Under 18 upwards. He’s made 15 appearances in total, scoring four goals.
The Prospects
As already touched upon, the departure of Ritchie and the significant investment Bournemouth have made in Ibe suggest he’ll be a regular starter for the Cherries this season.
Manager Eddie Howe tended to prefer using a 4-4-1-1 formation last term, although he did use other systems such as 4-1-4-1 and 4-4-2, so it’s likely that Ibe will operate on the space vacated by Ritchie on the right of a four-man midfield, with Max Gradel a likely starter on the opposite flank.
There’s little doubt Ritchie’s absence will leave a huge void in Bournemouth’s attack – with Callum Wilson sidelined for the vast majority of last season, the Scotland international led all Cherries players for total shots (77) last season with 77, while he was also second for key passes, averaging one every 72.7 minutes.
Looking at Ibe’s underlying statistics from last season, the 20-year-old averaged a shot every 43.7 minutes, slightly behind Ritchie (40.6 minutes), while Gradel (50.7) trailed both players. Junior Stanislas boasted some decent underlying numbers last year but the new boy’s arrival is likely to demote him to bench-warming duties.
Ibe did hold a significant edge for key passes last term, however, averaging one every 58.6 minutes, significantly better than Ritchie’s ratio, while Gradel again trailed both players, only managing a key passes every 89.9 minutes.
The data suggests Ibe looks well equipped to fill Ritchie’s creative boots and he should offer decent assist potential, particularly as he gains confidence by playing on a regular basis.
The Cherries actually ranked 11th for total goal attempts last season, so although their top goalscorer, Josh King, only netted six times in the league, their attacking Fantasy assets could well provide some intriguing mid-price and perhaps budget options should they stick more of their chances away, The return from injury of Wilson, who netted five times in just 820 minutes’ pitch time, should help add a cutting edge.
Given that he only has one Premier League goal to his name, Ibe is still unproven as a Fantasy asset and price tag of around 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is expected. With his pace, trickery and strong dribbling ability, there’s little doubt he could flourish at a side where he’ll be expected to become a key player.
However, Bournemouth’s opening fixtures (MUN, whm, cpl, WBA, mci) are among the least favourable schedules over the opening five Gameweeks, so unless Ibe enjoys a stellar pre-season, he may well be overlooked initially.
Expectations will certainly be high for Ibe on the south coast given the exorbitant transfer fee, but the winger now looks to have the platform to establish himself as a key Premier League performer.
