By Alex Roberts
Signing the right players is now a science rather than having one old fella that gets sent to grounds up and down the country, smoking a cigarette in the stands hoping to find a talent that stands out enough to be worth a punt.
Last summer, Andoni Iraola’s side was gutted. Milos Kerkez moved to Liverpool, Dean Huijsen got his dream move to Real Madrid, Ilya Zabarnyi headed to Paris Saint-Germain, and Dango Ouattara went to fellow recruitment specialists Brentford.
Replacements came in, and at the start of the season, Bournemouth were looking like genuine contenders for European football. Performances fell of over the festive period, but they’ve now picked up and Iraola’s side have steadied.
When Antoine Semenyo joined Man City for a reported £65 million fee in early January, Bournemouth earned around £55 million in profit. Some of that needed to be reinvested in order to help replace the winger’s numbers, but not all of it.
Bournemouth landed on Rayan, a 19-year-old that was ripping it up for Vasco Da Gama in his native Brazil. The forward wasn’t exactly an unknown, in fact he had been linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe before his move to the South Coast.
Rayan’s recent career history – including last year with Vasco
From a tactical standpoint, it’s easy to see why Bournemouth were willing to spend around £30 million, including add-ons, on Rayan. Iraola’s side are chaotic, playing an incredibly high line and thriving in transition.
Rayan isn’t the typical Brazilian winger you see when you close your eyes. Fully aware of how strong and quick he is, Rayan will use that physicality to his advantage to beat defenders rather than rely on tricks.
He moves like an assassin, one second, he’s there, the next he’s gone. Rayan’s assist for Alex Scott’s 91st minute goal on his debut in the 2-0 win over Wolves demonstrates that perfectly.
As Wolves pushed for an equaliser, which they would have probably deserved, Bournemouth were more than happy to hit them on the counter, and Wolves ultimately paid the price.
Rayan’s player traits comparison
Rayan receives the ball from Adrien Truffert under pressure from Wolves midfielder João Gomes. Gomes is all over him, but Rayan’s turn gave him a couple of inches to beat his fellow Brazilian, and by then it was too late.
The new Bournemouth man powered towards the byline and found Scott, who simply couldn’t miss from such close range. That was Rayan to a tee. Players will try to dispossess him, but Rayan will just shrug them off and keep going.
That was the second and final chance created by Rayan in his 22 minutes on the pitch, only Amine Adli, who he replaced, created more (3). Of course, playing against tired legs as the game opened up will have played a big part in that.
After the Wolves win, Bournemouth had registered seven counter attacking goals, the most in the Premier League in 2025-26. in the 2025 Brasileirao campaign, only Cruzeiro’s Kaio Jorge (5), scored more than Rayan (4). Starting to see why this is good recruitment?
Iraola handed Rayan his full debut against Aston Villa following his impressive cameo against Wolves. Morgan Rogers gave the visitors the lead after 22 minutes, and Bournemouth were in need of a forward stepping up.
Rayan did just that, via some pretty confusing defending from Villa. Playing on the right rather than the left, where he made his debut, Rayan had acres of space to run into before finding himself in the opposition box. He struck the ball low and true, leaving Emi Martínez with no chance.
Rayan’s maiden Bournemouth goal
He’s not perfect. Being somewhat of an unknown quantity has certainly helped him, it was clear that the Villa defenders didn’t know how to approach defending against him, whether they should close him down or let him run. People should know that they need to stand him up now, though.
Like so many young forwards, his end product isn’t quite there yet. Looking at his stats during Vasco da Gama’s 2025 league campaign, while he was their top scorer with 14 in 34, his creative numbers were poor.
He created just one chance per 90 and despite his ability on the ball, he averaged just one completed take-on per 90. Bournemouth play very open football, so this should suit them just fine, but should they come up against a side that prefers to sit players behind the ball, he may struggle.
Rayan’s creative stats in Brazil last season
Of course, he’s a young lad, stuff like that can be taught, and Iraola is one of the better coaches in the league. Making the step up from Brazilian club football to English is a tall order, but it’s not impossible to continue his impressive start.
Comparisons with another young Brazilian winger who recently moved to England are inevitable. Estêvão has made a lightning quick start to his Chelsea career, he may not be posting Lamine Yamal level numbers (yet), but he’s still contributing at an elite level.
After a summer that saw Bournemouth lose so many young stars, they’ve managed to find more. Eli Junior Kroupi is the most notable, but Veljko Milosavljević, Álex Jiménez, and fellow January signing Alex Tóth all have huge futures.
It’s been reported that Rayan has an £86 million release clause in his Bournemouth contract. Unless the club gets bought out by a sugar daddy, the plan is, ultimately, to sell him on for a huge profit. Rinse and repeat.
That’s not a bad thing. Until Bournemouth increase revenue elsewhere, it’s the only real way to continue a healthy cash flow. For now, Cherries fans should enjoy the fact they have such a sensational player on their hands.
(Images from IMAGO)
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