South Coast club Bournemouth have now confirmed the signings of defender Nathan Ake and England international Jermain Defoe from Premier League champions Chelsea and the relegated Sunderland respectively.

Reports had previously confirmed that the Cherries had acquired the services of Defoe days after the 2016-17 campaign ended, but Eddie Howe's side have officially announced that the former Cherry is back where he spent a loan spell back in 2000.

Even Ake had drawn strong links with the club over the past few days and the signing comes in as another major boost for a club that will look to finish inside the top half of the league for another season.

"Right place to develop"

Defoe's capture was confirmed by the club's official website yesterday, as the 34-year-old has put to pen paper on a three-year deal at Dean Court. Defoe dubbed the decision to comeback as a rather 'easy' one and admitted that he was looking forward to the challenge.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man, who ended up being the club's highest goal-getter as a teenager during his loan spell at Bournemouth back in the 2000-01 campaign, hailed Eddie Howe as being a 'top manager' and said that it was a 'great place to be'.

Ake's signing was confirmed on Friday through the official website and the Dutchman, who made ten appearances for the South Coast club during his loan spell last season, has been signed for a £20million fee which is a record fee for the Cherries.

The utility player told the AFCB website: “I had a great time here last season so I’m really happy to be back.”

He admitted that he still has a lot of things to work on, but also said that the fans haven't seen the best of him yet. The 22-year-old also thanked Chelsea for all that he has learned during his stay at Stamford Bridge.

Number two and number three

Ake and Defoe happen to be Bournemouth's second and third summer signings, as Eddie Howe looks to build a strong Premier League outfit for the season ahead. Blackburn Rovers youngster Conor Mahoney has drawn strong links to the club over the past few days and could well prove to Howe's fourth capture of the summer.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Kaustubh Pandey
A 19-year-old football writer. Currently write for CalcioMercato, OutsideOftheBoot, ForzaItalianFootball, BackPageFootball, EPLIndex, Sportscafe and many other websites.