If the rest of the Championship was unsure as to how serious Bournemouth are about promotion this season, then are painfully aware now. The Cherries enjoyed the kind of January transfer deadline day that dreams are made of.
No fewer than five additions were made to Scott Parker’s squad before the winter window slammed shut, with all of those bringing serious ability with them to the south coast. Freddie Woodman, Kieffer Moore, Siriki Dembele, Todd Cantwell and Nat Phillips are all on board and eyeing up a return to the Premier League.
There are obvious benefits to be found in all of the deals mentioned above, but it is the arrival of a no-nonsense defender from Liverpool that really stands out. Phillips, who made 20 appearances for the Reds last season, has swapped life at Anfield for that at the Vitality Stadium.
In the process he has left a club which are 11/2 within Champions League betting at Paddy Power for one that is 4/9 to clamber out of the Championship this season and back into the big time.
The chances are that a man asked to fill the sizeable void created by an untimely injury to Virgil van Dijk in 2020-21 had plenty of options to mull over as he pondered his next move. Some of those may have allowed him to remain in the top tier.
Ambition comes in many forms, though, and Phillips should be applauded for looking beyond the seemingly obvious option for an opportunity with a little more substance to it. He has found that on the books at Bournemouth.
Going up
If he had wanted an easy life, then he would still be on Merseyside. Game time may have been in short supply, but Jurgen Klopp would likely have found the odd outing for a man who earned plenty of plaudits when filling a stand-in role last season.
Phillips would also have been promised minutes at clubs desperate to add another body to a Premier League basement battle, with the Bolton native boasting enough battle wounds to suggest that he will never back down from a fight.
It is, however, with the Cherries that another challenge is being taken on. He could see that decision vindicated by a promotion party come May, with an important part played in returning Bournemouth to a stage on which they believe they belong.
Parker and Co are certainly pulling no punches in that quest, with the benefits provided by parachute payments being maximised to the full.
There can be no excuses now, with anything less than a top-two finish set to represent a failure of sorts for a fiercely ambitious outfit. A play-off lottery would still offer a shot at landing the ultimate jackpot, but tickets there are best to be avoided.
Phillips boasts the pedigree to suggest that Bournemouth have completed the kind of business that will allow collective dreams to be realised, with a show of intent made to Championship rivals that can only watch on in envy.
The Cherries are certainly talking the talk, but can they walk the walk all the way back to a Premier League Promised Land?
