Andoni Iraola admits Bournemouth face a tougher challenge without Dominic Solanke

Andoni Iraola admits Bournemouth face a tougher challenge without Dominic Solanke
    
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola acknowledges that losing Dominic Solanke has complicated his task, but he is optimistic that the upcoming signing of Brazilian striker Evanilson will boost the team's prospects.

Solanke completed his switch to Tottenham last week in a deal which could eventually be worth £65million.

The sale of Bournemouth's top scorer, who netted 21 goals in all competitions last season, will be offset somewhat by the signing of Evanilson from Porto, with the reported fee an initial £31.7m as part of a club-record £40.2m transfer.

Should all the paperwork be completed in time, Evanilson could feature in Saturday's opening Premier League game at Nottingham Forest.

Iraola, though, knows replacing Solanke will be a tough ask.

"For us without Dom, my job is going to be more difficult because he is a hell of a player," the Bournemouth boss said at a press conference.

"But there is also a personal side, that you want the best for him. We will want him to score a lot of goals, to beat every opposition, to be as good as he is.

"I am sure he will be because his behaviour has always been top. It is not easy to score the goals he has scored, to have the performance he has had.

"For sure, he has had offers before, he was very happy here, he has been until the last day. It is also a good chance for him, but we wish him all the best."

The deal for Evanilson, 24, would have to be completed by midday on Friday for the Brazilian to be involved at Forest.

"He has been here, he arrived last night, he has gone through all the medical stuff, but still he has things to do," said Iraola.

"A lot of paperwork to do, so I don't know really what's going to be the process, when it's ready.

"I cannot tell you if everything is going to be finished for tomorrow or not."

Evanilson scored 13 league goals for Porto last season, including a hat-trick in the group stage of the Champions League against Royal Antwerp.

"He is still young, he has played Champions League football, has had experience with the national team," Iraola said. "If we complete the signing, it will be a good signing for us."

Bournemouth also confirmed the departure of midfielder Romain Faivre on loan to Ligue 1 club Brest.