Premier League 2019/20: 5 excellent signings that have flown under the radar

#2 Lloyd Kelly – Bristol City to Bournemouth

Former Bristol City left back Lloyd Kelly could help to shore up Bournemouth's leaky defence

Despite finishing in a respectable 14th place last season, it was quite clear that things needed to change at Bournemouth this summer. While Eddie Howe’s side proved to be quite a strong attacking force thanks to the talents of Callum Wilson, Joshua King, Ryan Fraser and David Brooks, their defence didn’t prove to be quite so strong, and the Cherries conceded 70 goals last season – more than any side outside of the bottom two clubs Fulham and Huddersfield.

That’s a worrying trend that Howe couldn’t allow to continue – and so in an attempt to shore up Bournemouth’s back line, England u21 international Lloyd Kelly has been brought in from Bristol City for a fee of £13m. One of the few players to be chosen for international duty last season from outside the Premier League, Kelly could turn out to be a massively shrewd signing.

The youngster is likely to become Bournemouth’s first choice left-back, replacing Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith who largely shared the spot between them last season, and judging by statistics, it’s probably a good move for the Cherries. Kelly was dribbled past just 0.2 times per game last season compared to 0.9 for Smith and 0.4 for Daniels, and he also scored highly in terms of interceptions and clearances.

His passing statistics weren’t so good in comparison, but to be fair that’s perhaps because Bournemouth played more of a possession-based game than Bristol City.

Overall, at just 20 years old Kelly is likely to improve dramatically under a manager like Howe, and so Bournemouth may well have found themselves a top-class defender for years to come. The talent and confidence are both there – it’s now time for Kelly to prove that he belongs in the Premier League, and if he can strengthen Bournemouth’s defence he’ll prove to be a great buy.