CHERRIES announced their retained list last week, with five first-teamers confirmed to be leaving – but what is the contract situation of their remaining players?
We know that head coach Andoni Iraola signed a new deal at the end of the season, keeping the Basque boss on the south coast until at least the end of the 2025/26 season.
Players' contract lengths impact every football club's thinking, especially during transfer windows.
Here is the state of play with all 30 players in Cherries' first-team squad, plus those departing.
2024
Aside from Kelly, the remaining four players were not offered new deals, with the latter two finishing the 2023/24 campaign away from Vitality Stadium on loans to Hibernian and Swansea City respectively.
Cherries currently have two players on loan, with one set to stay permanently and the other returning to the parent club.
Striker Enes Unal and Cherries have pre-arranged a four-year contract that will come into effect at the start of the transfer window, whilst goalkeeper Andrei Radu will return to Inter Milan at the expiry of his loan deal.
2025
Smith’s gametime last season triggered a clause in his contract to earn an extra year, and after a campaign of solid performances it would not be a surprise to see Cherries offer Smith an extension at some point in the near future.
Moore and Kilkenny finished last campaign out on loan, but arguably find themselves in vastly different situations.
Even with the addition of Unal, head coach Andoni Iraola has not ruled out a place for Kieffer Moore in his squad, stating that it was down to the Welshman to decide.
Ultimately, Moore decided to head out on loan in January in order to secure game time with a view of strengthening his case for inclusion in the national team.
Kilkenny also headed out to play football, but the 24-year-old had to drop to the third-tier with Fleetwood Town.
Whilst Moore was afforded some appearances off the bench in the first-half of last season, the closest Kilkenny came to getting on the pitch was a handful of inclusions amongst the substitutes.
It feels likely that both players will look for moves away this summer, but there is less certainty over the future of Mepham.
The former Brentford man stated around the time of the last transfer window that he was not happy with his game time, and has already been linked with a move to Celtic this summer.
Having already lost Kelly, Cherries will likely want to get another centre-back through the door before they allow Mepham to leave.
That being said, a bigger role for youngster James Hill next season could make Mepham’s exit more palatable.
2026
Hill does not have that long left on his contract in the grand scheme of things either. Signed in the January window of the 2021/22 season as a future prospect, Hill’s current deal expires in the summer of 2026.
The centre-back is one of seven players out of contract at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Similar to Smith, Lewis Cook satisfied the conditions required to trigger an extension last season, adding an extra year to a deal that was set to expire in 2025.
Cook’s fellow midfielder Joe Rothwell signed a four-year deal on his arrival as a free agent from Blackburn Rovers in 2022, but it feels likely that Cherries will try and move the Manchester United academy graduate on this summer.
There are a host of big names with contract until 2026 in the squad. Club captain Neto will be just shy of 37 when his current deal expires, whilst centre-back Marcos Senesi will arguably be in his prime as a 29-year-old.
David Brooks is tied down to the Vitality Stadium until at least the summer of 2026, with his contract extension heavily hinting at a potential option for Cherries to extend the deal further.
However, like international teammates Mepham and Moore, Brooks’ desire for game time may lead him away from Dean Court this summer.
Cherries’ stance on the Welsh international is clear – he is very much apart of their first-team plans for next season.
One player who might be involved in some capacity next season is goalkeeper Will Dennis.
The goalie is contracted until 2026, and with the departures of Radu and Randolph this summer, Dennis could stick around to act as goalkeeping cover after a strong loan spell with Kilmarnock.
2027
There are no less than eight players with deals lasting until 2027 in the first team picture.
In recent transfer windows Cherries have tended not to officially disclose contract lengths, leaving to some uncertainty over exact lengths of deals.
That applies to Milos Kerkez, who was described as having signed a “long-term” deal when he arrived from AZ Alkmaar last summer.
In the past long-term deal has tended to be shorthand for a five-year contract, but reports suggest that Kerkez is only contracted until 2027, on four-year terms.
We do know for certain that Dominic Solanke is tied down to Cherries until 2027, with recent stories suggesting that he has a hefty release clause to deter interested clubs.
Academy graduates Mark Travers and Jaidon Anthony also have a few years on their deals, alongside 22/23 signings Marcus Tavernier and Antoine Semenyo.
It is also confirmed that Max Aarons has a four-year deal with Cherries, whilst midfield pair Philip Billing and Ryan Christie both penned new contracts last season, securing their AFC Bournemouth futures until 2027.
2028 & 2029
However, thanks to multiple reports, we have a strong idea of when those contracts will expire.
Alex Scott, Justin Kluivert, and Romain Faivre all arrived last summer, and are reported to be on five-year deals.
Latest recruit Alex Paulsen was announced by Cherries as having a long-term deal, but the goalkeeper let slip in an interview that he has a four-year contract.
Unal and Tyler Adams’ contracts lengths have also been disclosed; both set to stay at Vitality Stadium until the summer of 2028.
Three of the signings made during the January transfer window of 2023 all signed five-and-a-half year deals, with Illia Zabarnyi, Hamed Traore, and Dango Ouattara part of Cherries’ plans to varying extents until at least the 2028 campaign.
Luis Sinisterra initially joined Bournemouth on loan from Leeds United, before the two clubs agreed a separate deal for the move to be made permanent midway through last season.
The Colombian had a contract running until 2027 with the Yorkshire club, so we can at least expect his deal with Cherries to run a year longer, until 2028.
However, there is a strong possibility that the winger has a five-year contract with Bournemouth, which would take him through to 2029.
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