Lloyd Kelly has endured a stop-start 2023/24 Premier League season after a potential summer move to Tottenham Hotspur didn’t go through
Tottenham failed with a late move for Lloyd Kelly at the end of the January transfer window
Now at the midway stage of October, it won’t be long at all until the transfer window reopens for business. Prior to then, Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side have 12 Premier League games on the agenda and the hope will be that they can still be riding high in the table at the turn of the year.
It could prove to be a crucial transfer window for the club and what they do in the January market could have a major say on their final league position come May. A window where clubs aren’t as active as in the summer due to a limited amount of available players and high transfer fees, Johan Lange and Spurs will certainly need to find a way of adding to their numbers.
Currently slightly short at centre-back at present following Davinson Sanchez’s permanent exit to Galatasaray, it is imperative that another defender is brought in to provide cover for Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. The Lilywhites were unsuccessful with a £20million move for Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly on transfer deadline day and he is someone they could possibly look at again as they look to bolster their backline.
Highly regarded at the Vitality Stadium, the former England Under-21 international has all the qualities that Postecoglou looks for in a centre-back and there’s the possibility that they could save quite a lot of money on the 25-year-old in January. Now in the final year of his contract on the south coast, the Cherries may find themselves in a position where they have to part with the defender in January for a fee rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing in the summer.
So how exactly has Kelly fared since a potential deadline-day transfer to Tottenham didn’t go through? Following Bournemouth’s decision to keep hold of their player in the summer window, it is fair to say that it has been a very stop-start season for Kelly to date.
Starting three of the Cherries’ first four games of 2023/24, including Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Andoni Iraola’s team at the end of August, Kelly has only featured twice for his club since then. With Bournemouth travelling to Brentford one day after the transfer window closed for business, the Bristol-born player was not part of the match day party for the game in west London.
Iraola confirmed that Kelly’s omission from the squad was due to the uncertainty surrounding his future on deadline day. Speaking to BBC Radio Solent later in September, the defender explained that his start to the campaign had been an “up and down ride”.
“I think looking back at the start of the season, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit of an up and down ride. But I’m here and I want to play the best football that I can,” he said as reported by the Daily Echo.
“I think that’s my goal for this season, to be consistent in my performances and play to where I know I can play. So for me, that’s my goal.”
Amid his hopes of delivering consistent performances week in, week out, Kelly has unfortunately struggled to do so because of injury. Impressing with a standout showing in their 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea, the following week he limped off with seven minutes to go in their 3-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion due to a calf problem.
Not featuring since then and set to return to action at some point after October’s international break, Iraola bemoaned Kelly’s injury after delivering two “amazing” performances.
“It’s not exactly the same problem, but it is frustrating because he was amazing in the last two games,” he said, as reported by the Daily Echo. “He played so good against Chelsea and he played so good the other day (at Brighton), and now again to have this, I don’t think it’s going to be a long thing, but another stop and you have to reset again.
“Especially for him, I think it’s not easy, because he was feeling well, he played two very good games. But it is a chance also for other players to step up and make their point to keep starting.”
Once he is back to full fitness, Kelly will be intent on regaining his place in the Bournemouth team and getting that match rhythm that has unfortunately passed him by this term.
