Cherries' Europa League squad will look slightly barren due to UEFA rules

This summer at AFC Bournemouth, there is something new to consider. Cherries will have to register a 25-man squad for their maiden Europa League campaign, which comes with different considerations and rules compared to the Premier League.

The Premier League allows no more than 17 of the 25 players registered in a club’s squad to lack home-grown status. Home-grown status in the Premier League’s eyes is any player that has spent three years (or 36 non-continuous months) registered with any club affiliated with the FA or FAW, the Welsh equivalent, before the age of 21. It does not have to be specifically with the club registering the players.

UEFA’s similar rule is a requirement - clubs must register eight ‘locally-trained’ players, four of which must be ‘club-trained’ on List A.

Locally-trained essentially translates to the Premier League’s home-grown status, albeit with the tighter window set between the ages of 15 and 21.

Club-trained adds a further requirement - those three years must be spent with the club registering the player. A quick glance at Cherries’ squad highlights the issue - there are not many eligible players.

Back-up goalkeeper Will Dennis is one such qualifier. Retaining Dennis’ services for this season at least is a no-brainer. Djordje Petrovic is the undisputed number one, and whilst competition may help improve the Serb, an established and settled goalkeeper can provide stability at the back.

UEFA rules require clubs to require at least two goalkeepers on List A (AKA the 25-man list of senior players) and three in total across both List A and List B. A goalkeeper that satisfies club-trained requirements kills two birds with one stone.

Fellow academy graduate Ben Winterburn was born before the cut off of January 1, 2005 for inclusion on List B, and as such, will have to be registered in List A. The versatile midfielder’s inclusion on List A would bring Cherries’ total up to two club-trained players, and allow the registration of 23 men in total.

List B allows clubs to use an unlimited number of players born on or after January 1, 2005 to feature in the Europa League - but only if they have spent two continuous years (or three non-consecutive years with one loan) at the club.

This differs in comparison to the Premier League’s rule - which simply allows clubs to play any number of players aged under 21, no matter how long they’ve been at the club.

For example, that means Cherries do not have to register Rayan, Alex Toth, Veljko Milosavljević and Junior Kroupi in their Premier League squad, but will have to do so for the Europa League. So what does this mean in practical terms for Cherries?

At the time of writing, they will have to simply exclude players. Dennis, Winterburn, Alex Scott, Lewis Cook, Ben Doak, David Brooks, Marcus Tavernier, Adam Smith, Daniel Jebbison, James Hill, Max Aarons and Fraser Forster all count as locally trained.

Frustratingly, Scott does not qualify as club-trained, having joined as a 19-year-old in 2023. The midfield star might have qualified when his previous stint in Cherries’ academy is considered - the non-continuous caveat of the rule - but it occurred before he was 15, nixing that idea.

Similarly James Hill was 19, just five days shy of 20, when he arrived at Cherries. His loan spells at Hearts and then Blackburn would prevent Bournemouth from claiming club-trained status anyway. It was a long time ago, but Lewis Cook was also 19 when he joined Bournemouth from Leeds - if you were wondering.

Leaving Dennis and Winterburn briefly aside and adding players that are not locally trained, Cherries have 29 senior players they could register. We need to whittle that down to 21.

We can exclude Aarons from the equation, and likely Forster, presuming that Cherries will satisfy the goalkeeping requirements with an under-21 in the academy. Matai Akinmboni could be added to List B halfway through the campaign, as he would hit the two-year mark required. If we leave him out to start, that makes 26. Julian Araujo and Kroupi’s injuries are longer-term, so whilst they may recover to fitness before the next registration window, it might be a safer bet to leave them out.

Veljko Milosavljević is in a similar boat, and the arrival of Antonio Silva at least leaves Cherries with three fit centre-backs. If we presume Winterburn is viewed as cover at centre-half, it makes sense to cautiously omit Milosavljević to get closer to 21.

If Enes Unal departs as expected, that leaves us at 22. Daniel Jebbison’s future is up in the air, but Rose’s tactics require two strikers - which means depth up top is needed. However, Jebbison’s peripheral status makes him a top contender for the cut. Depending on the severity of Amin Adli’s injury, the winger could be omitted instead.

It goes without saying that Marco Rose currently has a selection headache. Cherries will hope that won’t be the case forever.

In the current squad, there are potentially two future club-trained players - centre-backs Milosavljević and Akinmbombi. Aged 18 on their arrivals, the pair would have to stay at Cherries - with no loan deal away - to qualify as a club-trained player from September 2028 and January 2028, respectively.

That may seem a little too long-term to think, but if Cherries want to continue qualifying for Europe, they have to prepare themselves as properly as possible for campaigns on the continent.

Bill Foley pledged European football in five years upon his arrival, and whilst Black Knight have delivered ahead of schedule, perhaps a little future planning was necessary.

The departure of Jaidon Anthony - a favourite of ex-boss Andoni Iraola - to capture the services of injury-prone Luis Sinisterra is a decision that has aged poorly. Full of energy and willingness to run, Anthony’s return in the Premier League for a struggling Burnley was decent enough for Brentford to spend a potential £20million on the winger.

Even if at best a squad player, Anthony would alleviate pressure on the wings. Hindsight makes it easy to say such things. However, should Cherries wish to become European regulars, these are the little details that can make a huge difference.

On a more positive note, squad limitations should give plenty of opportunities to Cherries’ youngsters - both in the Premier League. Expect to see a few names from Alan Connell’s development squad such as Cal McKena, Charlie Stevens, and Malcom Dacosta Gonzalez in matchday teamlists.