Bournemouth Opinion: Why the Cherries must sign Bartlomiej Dragowski?

According to a report from Football Italia, Bournemouth are interested in signing Fiorentina goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski.

The young Pole impressed during a fantastic six months on loan at Empoli, where he made 17 saves in one game against Atalanta. His fantastic performances in goal have caught the attention of Bournemouth, who are believed to have put forth a proposal of €11m plus €4m in performance-related bonuses last month.

However, with Fiorentina making Bartlomiej Dragowski their new no.1 for next season by letting Alban Lafont join Nantes, the Cherries will need to come up with an improved offer to lure the Polish goalkeeper away from Artemio Franchi Stadium.

Bournemouth desperately need reinforcements in the defence having shipped a staggering 70 goals in the Premier League this past campaign. They were woeful defensively and Eddie Howe needs to overhaul his backline ahead of the new campaign. However, Howe’s first priority should be adding a new goalkeeper.

While the south coast club do have two goalkeepers in the form of Asmir Begovic and Artur Boruc, neither goalkeeper has managed to establish himself as a first choice.

Integral to the Cherries’ superb first half of the season when they were flying high in the table, Begovic was axed by Howe in January and only managed two more appearances. Doubts have now been raised over his future with the club.

Meanwhile, veteran Boruc played in 12 of the final 16 Premier League matches of 2018-19 and did well. And he was rewarded with a new one-year contract this summer to extend his stay at the Vitality Stadium into the sixth season.

The 39-year-old also had a couple of underwhelming performances which saw Howe turn towards the rookie Mark Travers for the closing weeks of the 2018/19.

Bournemouth currently have four senior goalkeepers on the books during the opening weeks of pre-season, with Aaron Ramsdale returning back to the club after a solid spell with AFC Wimbledon.

Nevertheless, Ramsdale could be sent again on loan next season and with Begovic attracting interest from a host of clubs including Watford, Stoke City and Celtic, Howe has some tough decisions to make ahead of the 2019/20.

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That being said, the Cherries boss would be wise to sell Begovic and replace the Bosnian with Bartlomiej Dragowski.

The Polish goalkeeper has shown immense maturity despite being so young and would be a good fit at the Vitality Stadium.

He is extremely comfortable with his feet, which is a necessity for every modern-day goalkeeper, plus his cat-like reflexes and command in the box were a feature of his goalkeeping with Empoli.

Verdict

Bournemouth need a long-term solution between the sticks, with Boruc very likely to retire in 2020 and Begovic a shadow of his former self.

Dragowski has shown real promise in the Serie A and he could immediately solve Cherries’ goalkeeping problem.