Mags will face Cherries’ new Brazilian star
NEWCASTLE United may not have to face Dominic Solanke when they head to the south coast to take on AFC Bournemouth this weekend, but Cherries boss Andoni Iraola is confident his replacement will be ready for Eddie Howe’s men.
Solanke scored three times against the Magpies last season, including a brace in their 2-0 win over United in November 2023. His big-money move to Tottenham left Bournemouth without a recogised No 9, but they wasted little time in finding an alternative.
The Cherries paid an initial £31.7m to FC Porto for Brazilian striker Evanilson in a deal that could rise to £40m and, while he missed their opening-day 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, Iraola expects him to be involved when Newcastle arrive at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.
The Spaniard felt his side lacked a goal threat at the City Ground, but is confident that will change when they host United.
“I think probably we didn’t start with a specific number 9,” he said following the draw with Forest. “We tried different with Antoine (Semenyo), with Sini (Luis Sinisterra), with Justin (Kluivert) but we couldn’t finish the deal with Evanilson on time.
“I think we are not going to hide that Dom Solanke was pivotal for us. He was involved in a lot of our offensive play last season but I think that the club didn’t have an easy job. You never want to lose probably your best player.
“Evanilson for me is a great signing. I hope he can train normally this full week and for sure he will be someone that we hope will be very important this season.”
The 24-year-old is a Brazil teammate of Bruno Guimaraes, with the pair both featuring at this summer’s Copa America.
Newcastle will face Solanke the weekend after, of course, with Spurs at St James’ Park on
Sunday, September 1.