Two replacements Bournemouth must consider for Adam Smith in January
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has confirmed full-back Adam Smith suffered a serious knee injury in the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Adam Smith collapsed to the floor in agony after attempting to take a quick free-kick. The 27-year-old pretended to kick the ball away and as he pulled his leg back, he pulled up before going down in serious pain.
Smith received treatment for eight long minutes on the pitch and was stretchered off after 30 minutes into the game.
Given Howe’s statement, Smith could be out for a long period of time, although he hasn’t yet been ruled out for the season. But it looks certain that the full-back will be out during the festive period when games come thick and fast in the Premier League.
With the January transfer window approaching, Howe must bring in a replacement for Smith as he cannot rely entirely on Simon Francis. The left-back area is well covered as Bournemouth have the likes of Charlie Daniels and Diego Rico but the right-hand side looks light with only Simon Francis in the squad.
Keeping that in mind, here are two replacements Bournemouth must consider in the New Year.
Matteo Darmian (Manchester United)
According to the Sun, Matteo Darmian is set to quit Manchester United in January.
The Italian arrived from Torino three years ago but has failed to nail down a regular place in the team. Darmian has hardly had any playing time this season and given that he is likely to leave Old Trafford for regular game time, Bournemouth must make a move for him.
Predominantly a right-back, Darmian is also adept at playing on the left wing, as a wing-back and as a centre-half in times of emergency. At Bournemouth, the Italy international would get regular game time and a chance to resurrect his career that has stalled in the last couple of years.
Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal)
Carl Jenkinson, Arsenal’s forgotten man for the best part of two years, has earned some game time this season under Unai Emery. Prior to his couple of appearances this season, the 26-year-old last played for the Gunners in a League Cup tie in November 2016.
Jenkinson has made a good impression in a couple of games he has played this campaign but he is far off from usurping Hector Bellerin from the starting XI. Bellerin has been a player re-born under Emery and has established himself as the first-choice right-back, meaning Jenkinson will have to be content with games in the cup competitions.
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At 26, Jenkinson still hasn’t entered his prime years and should consider leaving Arsenal in January. Bournemouth would be wise to take the one-time England international to strengthen their right-back position following Adam Smith’s serious injury.