The Young Cherries Talents That Are Setting Tongues Wagging
On a day when AFC Bournemouth face the might of Arsenal in the top flight, one can take a moment to look up to our opposition and admire the size, development and overall infrastructure at such a global club. Whilst the most expensive talent will be gracing the pitch at Dean Court today, away from the first team, the Gunners seemingly have all their ducks in a row throughout the various playing groups, with huge strides being made in the last thirty years to improve the academy in order to nurture young talent that might one day grace the Premier League, just the Saka and Smith-Rowe will today.
It’s not only the big clubs’ academies are seeing the fruits of their labour coming to the fore, as, despite a huge period of transition for academy football at Dean Court, there are some rising stars in our ranks down on the South Coast, but whereas in the past they would have just the interest of local teams such as Poole Town, Weymouth, Dorchester or Bashley – some of the recent development and youth squad players are now turning heads further afield.
Back in May, Alan Connell told the Bournemouth Echo that securing the future of some great talents from the Under 18 squad is “really exciting” and the future only looks to grow brighter ahead of the move into the new training facility in around a year. So, with this in mind, we take a look at a couple of young lads whose careers are only just getting started…
Baylin Johnson is one of these exciting talents, who spent last season on loan at Dorchester, making a few appearances. Nothing unusual there of course, but then all of a sudden, a number of clubs interested were scrambling for a chance to take a better look at the ex-Arsenal youngster.
18 year-old Bournemouth winger Baylin Johnson has joined Serie A side Lecce on a season long loan 🏴✈️🇮🇹
The trend of young English ballers moving abroad continues. Option to buy at the end of the loan, excited to see him develop. 📈 #AFCB pic.twitter.com/Y2ZSfg2Htg
— Rising Ballers (@RisingBallers_) August 20, 2023
The 18 year old forward, who was attached to the Gunners for a decade before signing for Bournemouth, reportedly had interest from a number of overseas and Scottish sides, including Belgian outfit K.V. Oostende and Austrian side Rapid Wien, whilst League One’s Lincoln City and League Two’s Stockport County were also interested in a potential loan deal for the player.
In the end, Baylin headed to Lecce in Italy, as the club agreed a deal for him to link up with the Primavera (Under 19). Interestingly, that side won the competition last year, which has meant that many players were plucked from the development side and thrust into the first team reckoning. This created a void, but the Lecce recruitment team have a wonderful reputation for nurturing talent and it can been seen as nothing less than a huge compliment for Baylin – at such a young age – to be given this rare opportunity.
Elsewhere, bursting onto the scene this season and being the clubs first ever professional development goal scorer has got a few more tongues wagging about Michael DaCosta Gonzalez.
Bournemouth till i die😍🍒 pic.twitter.com/s16qq5OyCg
— Michael Dacosta Gonzalez (@MichaelDacostaG) May 23, 2023
He is a young player who has the fairly unique circumstance of being eligible to play international football for FIVE teams. Spain, England, Colombia, Ecuador and Equatorial Guinea are all aware of his eligibility and one can only imagine that Tom Jordan is salivating over the possibility of a new Ecuadorian shirt!
Michael signed a contact in May to continue his development at the club and his future looks bright. In an interview with a website that follows Hercules (where he started his journey in Alicante), he talks about how lucky he is to have the chance to be playing football and how important it is to smile and enjoy what he does on the pitch. He comes across very humble and it is clear family are hugely important to him – not least his younger brother Malcolm, who he is very close to also at the club.
Michael hasn’t yet reached a decision on his international future and is keen to just see what happens, however he did attend a Spain U19 training camp in last international window… so I hope you are keeping tabs Gareth Southgate.
Tigz, affectionately named after “Tony the Tiger”, has been a supporter of Bournemouth since the naughties, where he started watching the Cherries with his Dad. Sitting in the South Stand on most weeks, you’ll often see Tigz probing and pressing fan after a game, where posing an alternative view is his forté.
