Bournemouth should sign Nico Yennaris from Brentford in January
According to the Daily Mail, Brentford star Nico Yennaris is close to completing a £5.5 million move to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan.
The same report claims that the 25-year-old was born to a Chinese mother in England and he holds a Chinese passport as well, which means that Beijing Guoan would not have to register him as a foreign player.
An academy graduate of Arsenal, the 25-year-old made a handful of appearances for the Gunners in the Premier League and the cup competitions. He failed to break into the first-team on a regular basis, spending time on loan at Notts County and Bournemouth before he was signed permanently by Brentford in 2014.
Yennaris, who has represented England at the U19 level, has taken significant strides in his career to establish himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Championship. The 25-year-old has made a total of 12 goals and 9 assists from 157 appearances for the Bees across all competitions.
Those figures might not be too appealing but he has taken his game to a new level over the course of the last couple of seasons. Primarily a defensive midfielder, Yennaris accumulating 6 goals and 5 assists in the 2016-17 season and followed it up with another impressive 2017-18 campaign where he racked up 4 goals and 4 assists.
Yennaris can be termed as a rugged hard-working defensive midfielder with plenty of drive and determination who brings in a winning mentality to the team. He has operated more as a box-to-box central midfielder in recent times, discharging his defensive duties while also providing an attacking outlet with marauding runs forward. The 25-year-old also has the ability to play as a full-back on either side, making him all the more versatile an asset to the team.
The former Arsenal academy graduate has earned plaudits in the Championship for his superior work-rate which allows him to cover every blade of grass on the pitch. While he is adept at making recoveries by breaking up attacks with crucial tackles and interceptions, he also has the good eye for goal and is capable of finding the net with both feet from inside as well as outside the box.
To put things into perspective, Bournemouth should make a move for Nico Yennaris. The 25-year-old is yet to agree on terms with Beijing Guoan and there is still enough time for the Cherries to enter the race to land one of the most versatile talents of the second tier.
Bournemouth started off the season with a bang but Eddie Howe’s side has lost momentum midway through the campaign. They were oscillating between 6th to 10th in the standings but a poor run of form during the festive period saw the Cherries slip down to the bottom half of the table.
Injuries haven’t helped the team either, with Lewis Cook, Dan Gosling, Adam Smith and Simon Francis all being added to the list of casualties one by one. Shortage of midfield and defensive options has forced Howe to tinker with his tactics. The manager has switched to a back three system in a few games to cover for the absentees while Junior Stanislas has been used as a full-back to cover for the injuries to Simon Francis and Adam Smith.
That ploy has cost the team dear as the makeshift defenders haven’t been able to keep things tight at the back. Moreover, the Cherries have lacked a quality central midfielder to partner Jefferson Lerma in the heart of the midfield. Lewis Cook is out for the count now but he didn’t really play to his potential even when he was fit.
Goals from central midfielders can prove to be a deciding factor at the end of the campaign and someone like Nico Yennaris would definitely fit the bill at the Vitality Stadium. Not only would he provide cover for the regular full-backs and bring the best out of Lerma by working in tandems with the Colombian but he would also provide a goal threat up front with his ability to contribute to the attack.
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That said, Bournemouth need fresh faces to resurrect their Premier League campaign and secure a top ten finish and they can bag a massive coup by beating the Chinese club to sign Yennaris in January.
