The Cherries valued Kerkez’s aggression and recovery speed, but also tolerated his volatility. Kerkez’s stats show his disruptive defensive work and ball-winning instincts. His standout metric last season was interceptions, where he ranked highly among Premier League full-backs and that aggression attracted Liverpool.
He also posted strong numbers in goal-creating actions (GCA) and ball recoveries, highlighting both his willingness to play forward and his reading of the game.
Early in his Bournemouth career, Truffert offers a different profile.
The France international excels in tackles attempted in the attacking third, ranking far higher than Kerkez in this category and signalling a more front-footed pressing style under Iraola.
His progressive carrying distance is also one of his strongest categories, suggesting he is happier to run with the ball from deeper than his predecessor.
The ‘errors’ metric, which measures mistakes leading to an opponent’s shot, supports this. A higher figure actually represents fewer errors, suggesting a more secure defender. Here, Truffert outperforms Kerkez, who had a tendency to take risks.
Truffert’s early numbers point toward a less error-prone full-back, even while offering a different type of threat going forward – more dribbler than goal-creator.
In broad terms, Kerkez offered explosive recovery and interception instincts but had a mistake in him. Truffert meanwhile is more adventurous when dribbling and presses higher, with less likelihood of an error.
That shift in profile was paying off in Bournemouth’s handsome start to the season. Given recent struggles, it will be interesting to see how Iraola adapts his approach.
