Bournemouth quietly building an exciting frontline with additions of Nicolas Jackson and Dango Ouattara

In an attempt to fight off the threat of Premier League relegation this season, Bournemouth are spending big in attack during the winter transfer window.

Despite coming into the 2022/23 Premier League campaign as heavy favourites for the drop, Bournemouth have faired far better than many would have expected at the halfway point of the season.

Granted, the South Coast club sit in the relegation spots heading into matchday 21 of the English top-flight season but they remain within striking distance of jumping a gaggle of fellow relegation-threatened sides heading into the second half of the campaign.

In order to aid that jump, the Cherries have invested heavily in their attacking frontline during the January transfer window thanks to the additional funds that have been made available by new owner Bill Foley.

£45 million is the rough outlay with Dango Ouattara joining from French side Lorient and Nicolas Jackson set to arrive from La Liga’s Villarreal.

Dango Ouattara could become one of the Premier League signings of the winter

Let’s start with 20-year-old winger Dango Ouattara who has already seriously impressed on his Premier League debut for Bournemouth.

Making 44 senior appearances for Lorient before his move to England, Ouattara excelled throughout the first half of this campaign back in Ligue 1 compared to his output last season.

With 11 direct goal contributions through the opening 18 matches of the French top-flight calendar, Bournemouth moved quickly to beat the likes of Leicester City and Everton to the youngster’s signature.

That’s for very good reason.

Not only did Ouattara contribute in terms of goal involvements but his underlying metrics highlight a player who is already performing with a high level of quality in one of Europe’s top five leagues despite his tentative age.

Throughout the first half of the season compared to his Lorient teammates in Ligue 1, Ouatarra recorded the most assists (6), attempted the most shots (52) and won the most duels (147) of any. Quite the achievement given Lorient’s other current shining stars in fellow youngster Enzo Le Fee and striker Terem Moffi who are both linked to some big European sides at present.

On the shooting front, the Burkina Faso international outperformed his xG output, netting six times from 5.27 xG - a figure that not only highlights his tidy finishing skills but one that also shows his capabilities in terms of creating shooting chances for himself with his clever movement, tricky play and unpredictability.

That was something that was particularly evident on his Premier League debut with Bournemouth, a performance that saw him both claim the man-of-the-match award in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest and become the first Cherries player to grab an assist on their PL debut.

Getting the ball out of his body with a perfect headed first touch, he raced down the right wing before calmly playing the ball into the penalty area from out wide for Jaidon Anthony to slot home and give the Cherries the lead.

Others areas of his game stuck out during that debut as well. That’s because overall, he attempted five shots, won six duels, had seven touches inside the opposition’s box and won 100% of the tackles he attempted.

A solid all-round display from a player who is likely to become a key part of Bournemouth’s relegation resistance this season.

Nicolas Jackson brings additional quality upfront for the Cherries

Bournemouth also look set to acquire the services of 21-year-old forward Nicolas Jackson from Spanish side Villarreal in the very near future.

For a similar fee to the one they paid for Ouattara at around £25million, Jackson could prove to be another great addition for the Cherries and a player who could drastically improve the quality they currently possess amongst their forward group.

Through 14 La Liga outings for the Spanish side this season, Jackson has so far recorded two goals and two assists - not an earth shattering amount but a number of those appearances did come from the bench.

That low output may also be explained through his playing position as this campaign he’s predominantly been used as a centre forward in Spain, though his skill set looks to be one that favours a role on either wing instead.

Elsewhere when looking through his data from this current league season, Jackson has put 7 of his 16 attempted shots on target, whilst he’s recorded 4.65 progressive carries of the ball per 90 - a figure higher than that of current teammate Arnaut Danjuma who is set to sign for Spurs this window for reference.

Where Jackson excels even more is in his creativity though. According to FBRef when ranked against all other forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, he ranks in the top 20% for assists, passes into the final third, passes into the box and progressive passes.

That’s crucial given that at present, Bournemouth sit either bottom or second-bottom in all three of those categories as a team across the Premier League this season.

The 21-year-old is additionally very strong in helping his side to defend from the front as seen below, something which could be absolutely crucial to Bournemouth’s chances of surviving the dreaded Premier League drop this campaign.