AFTER looking through Cherries’ EFL loanees, our loan report concludes by focusing in mainly on two players currently outside of England.

Cherries signed Romain Faivre from Lyon in the summer, before immediately loaning him to French club FC Lorient.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Will Dennis headed north of the border to Kilmarnock.

We have some insight into how both players have fared so far, as well as a look at the club’s younger players competing in non-league.

Bournemouth Echo:

ROMAIN FAIVRE, FC LORIENT

16th in Ligue 1

12 appearances, 3 goals, 1 assist, 1,003 mins played

Romain Faivre’s performance on loan for Lorient in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign convinced Cherries to shell out £12.8million to sign him.

But the 25-year-old was sent straight back to Lorient on loan for the 2023-24 season. He got an early chance to show Cherries fans what he can do, featuring against them and impressing in a friendly for Lorient at Vitality Stadium in August.

To see how Faivre’s season has been going in France, we spoke to Baptiste Cogné, who covers FC Lorient for Ouest-France.

How would you assess Romain Faivre’s performances this season for FC Lorient so far?

It should be noted that Romain Faivre is supposed to be one of the leaders of the Lorient attack, because the players around him are very young and lack experience in Ligue 1.

He had a very good start to the season (the first six games), where he was influential in the game, inspired, decisive. He therefore lived up to the expectations placed on him.

But for the past month, it's been very complicated. He's no longer decisive, his game lacks ‘madness’, he doesn't create any differences with the ball at his feet.

He's a shadow of his former self, and if the Lorient attack is struggling today, his performances are no stranger to it (even if he's not the only one responsible obviously). So to sum up, six very interesting matches, and since then it's been very insufficient.

Which position does he usually play?

At the beginning of the season, Lorient played in a 5-2-3 formation, and he played on the right side of the attack, even if he tends to drop down a lot to look for the ball, to walk from one side to the other, he is very mobile.

In FC Lorient's last game at Clermont, Lorient played in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and he played as a playmaker behind the striker.

Bournemouth Echo:

Faivre is now 25 years old. Do you think he has reached his peak, or still has more levels to get to?

We've already seen some very good Romain Faivre, last season or at the beginning of this season, where he was able to unlock a game on his own thanks to his technique, his left foot.

But he's inconsistent, so for me he's not at his best yet.

How do Faivre’s performances compare this season since he signed for Cherries, to when he was at Lorient last season?

Last season he did really well because Lorient had lost (Terem) Moffi and (Dango) Ouattara in attack, and Faivre brought his experience to a second half of the season that had been complicated for FC Lorient.

I can't say if he's been better or worse since he signed for Bournemouth. We've seen two faces of Romain Faivre since the start of the season, we now expect him to find his true level, to regain confidence, and to live up to expectations.

Bournemouth Echo:

WILL DENNIS, KILMARNOCK

6th in Scottish Premiership

17 appearances, 7 clean sheets, 1,514 mins played

After a host of loan spells in England’s non-league, talented keeper Will Dennis took a big step up this summer.

He joined Kilmarnock and has established himself as first choice for the Scottish Premiership club.

The 23-year-old has previously spent time at Guernsey, Verwood Town, Weymouth, Wealdstone and Slough Town, as well as making one senior appearance for Cherries.

To get some insight into how Dennis is faring in Scotland, we asked sport editor at the Kilmarnock Standard, Lochlin Highet.

How would you assess Will Dennis’s loan spell at Kilmarnock so far?

I'd say Will has had a good loan spell so far. He has slowly become more and more comfortable in between the sticks.

He is now a mainstay in the Killie XI, even in pre-season Derek McInnes told me "he is really enjoying his goalkeeper", referencing Will who'd just kept a clean sheet with a good performance.

He has kept clean sheets against Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hearts already - last season's Scottish Premiership top four.

This is the by far highest level he has played at in his career, does he look comfortable in the Scottish Premiership?

I guess it would be easy for Will to clam up and look out of place when he's playing at the likes of Celtic Park, but honestly he's taken to the league like a fish to water.

He has slotted straight into the environment, and you can tell his personality is also well-suited to the dressing room which can be half the battle.

As I touched on before he's kept clean sheets against Scotland's biggest teams so I'd be inclined to say he's more than comfortable at this level.

Bournemouth Echo:

What style of play do Kilmarnock implement under Derek McInnes and what does that ask of Dennis?

Killie tend to force their opponents to play down the wing with three centre-backs being the preferred formation.

This does switch to a four depending on who's available, but generally Will needs to deal with a fair few crosses.

I wouldn't say Killie play from the back all too often, in fact a report came out last week that they're the seventh most direct team in the world... so I guess long balls are the order of the day at Rugby Park! His distribution is generally fine.

What were the initial thoughts of Kilmarnock fans when they signed Dennis and has that opinion changed?

Honestly, when Will joined I think most fans assumed he'd be the backup goalkeeper.

Last season's number one Sam Walker was still in talks with the club about signing a new deal, so I think most thought that deal eventually went through.

In the Betfred Cup group stages, many assumed Kieran O'Hara would play two of the four group games, but Will ended up playing all four and firmly cementing himself as number one.

Fans are more than happy with him having the gloves at the moment. I think the general consensus is that he's a solid goalkeeper but maybe not the type to pull off any kind of heroics.

But Killie fans have some horrible memories from goalkeepers in recent history, so a solid goalkeeper is absolutely fine!

Bournemouth Echo:

Cherries also have a number of players from their development squad away gaining experience.

Fellow goalkeeper Billy Terrell, who has previously impressed on loan at Weymouth and Wimborne Town, has featured regularly for Dover Athletic in National League South.

They are currently struggling in the relegation zone with just one win all season.

Terrell got off to a flying start personally at the Crabble, voted as the club’s player of the month for August.

Ben Winterburn is also getting experience in National League South.

The midfielder began the season with AFC Totton before stepping up to the sixth tier with Weymouth.

Upon departing Totton, boss Jimmy Ball said of Winterburn: “He trains hard and does everything right off the pitch.

“Men’s football is relatively new to him but he’s learning to use his size and strength to good effect.

“We’ve enjoyed having him here. I hope we’ve helped him to make that next step in his football journey.

“I wish him all the best and I’ll be watching his career with great interest.”

Archie Harris is also in that division with Torquay United, following a brief spell at Poole Town.

As Winterburn departed, Lewis Brown took his place to gain experience on loan at Totton.

Also in Southern Premier South, Karlos Gregory has featured for Sholing.

Lower down the pyramid, young goalkeeper Mack Allan has played seven times for Wessex Premier outfit Hythe & Dibden.

Bournemouth Echo:

Further afield, Baylin Johnson is on loan at Serie A club Lecce. He has featured for their under-19s team.

Discussing the winger’s move, Cherries’ development squad boss Alan Connell told the Daily Echo: “We were open to a loan, just because it was such a unique experience and eventually Lecce came up.

"Us and Baylin looked at it and thought it’s a great opportunity, a new experience for him.

“Like I said to him before he went, he’s still our player. We just want him to go and have a great experience and come back a better player.”