Bournemouth seem to have a good eye for defensive talent and they’ll hope that Adrien Truffert proves to be just as successful as Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez.
With the latter set to join Liverpool for a large profit, the Cherries have been proactive in quickly replacing him.
So, what impact will the left-back have in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
We’ll take a look during this Moving Target piece, including data and images from our Premium Members Area.
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THE HISTORY
Another successful graduate from the famed Rennes academy that has recently produced Eduardo Camavinga, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, Truffert has been a regular for the last five seasons.
| SEASON | CLUB | DIVISION | STARTS (SUB) | GOALS | ASSISTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 31 (2) | 2 | 2 |
| 2023/24 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 24 (6) | 1 | 3 |
| 2022/23 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 24 (4) | 0 | 6 |
| 2021/22 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 18 (12) | 3 | 3 |
| 2020/21 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 23 (6) | 1 | 4 |
In truth, his quantity of attacking returns doesn’t stand out at first glance – especially in 2024/25. Seven goals and 18 assists in 150 league outings, peaking with two strikes in a 4-1 thrashing of Lyon in November 2021. From a brief substitute appearance, too.
But there were quite a lot of cameos off the bench before the season just gone, so there is an asterisk next to those 150 outings.
The 23-year-old has been Les Rouge et Noirs’ captain throughout recent months, impressing Andoni Iraola and his staff enough to fork out a fee that could rise to €17m.
Belgian-born, Truffert’s sole France cap came in 2022 when replacing the injured Lucas Digne against Denmark. He also started five matches in 2024’s run to an Olympic silver medal.
PLAYING STYLE
Like Kerkez, this is someone who enjoys crossing. While the Hungarian ended 2024/25 inside the top six defenders for crosses (146), successful ones (39) and successful final third passes (370), Truffert ended the latest Ligue 1 campaign on 145 crosses from fewer minutes.
Above: The most frequent 2024/25 crossers in Ligue 1, via FBref
Also being inside its top 10 overall players for progressive passes received (243), he was able to showcase his attacking skills when used as a wing-back in the closing months.
Furthermore, Truffert is arguably better at defensive actions, such as blocks (44 v 38) and tackles (61 v 52).
WHERE TRUFFERT FITS IN AT BOURNEMOUTH
However, Truffert may not be the immediate, straightforward step-in that’s assumed. The Cherries splashed an initial £6.6m on 20-year-old Julio Soler in January.
Only three league cameos have taken place, totalling 26 minutes, but a good pre-season could see Iraola escalate these appearances as Truffert adapts.
“Milos [Kerkez] is a more physical player, physically he’s elite, he is up and down and full of energy, and sometimes you have to slow him down a little bit.
“Julio [Soler] is different, I think technically he’s a lovely player. On the ball, he has very good deliveries and he understands the position very well.
“The challenges for him in the competitions will be the physicality of the league. To adapt to the Premier League he will have to strengthen himself, but you only get it with minutes.” – Andoni Iraola
As a defence, Bournemouth peaked between Gameweeks 14 and 20, a time of four clean sheets. They were particularly resolute at home, conceding the joint-fewest number of goals (16). On the other hand, just two shutouts came on the road.
WILL TRUFFERT BE WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
Underlying data covering all 38 matches shows that the Cherries allowed the sixth-fewest goals (46) and big chances (79) to opponents, but selling at least two key elements from their backline will force some Fantasy hesitation about Gameweek 1 investment.
We’ll know more on Wednesday, when the 2025/26 fixtures get released. If FPL authorities hand Truffert an initial £4.5m price tag, this frequent crosser could flourish for a team that made the second-highest amount of them (832) last season. No side had a bigger proportion of them come from the left-hand side (64.3%).
Bournemouth were league leaders for hitting the woodwork (19) and fourth for both attempts (581) and shots on target (199).
Should it become clear that Truffert will be their first-choice left-back, he’d have a fair chance of matching Kerkez’s sixth-best 134 defender points.
