Andoni Iraola appointed as new Bournemouth coach

It's official. Andoni Iraola lands in the Premier League. It was one of the most rumoured rumours in the last days in England and it has just been confirmed. The former Rayo coach takes the reins of Bournemouth for the next two years. 

Iraola, who had left Rayo at the end of the season, ventures with an exciting challenge in English football to lead a team that this same day had dismissed Gary O'Neil, coach who succeeded Scott Parker in charge and got a 15th place in the Premier League table. 

The club made his arrival official this afternoon, just hours after O'Neil's sacking. Iraola now joins the list of Spanish coaches in the Premier League: he will be the fifth, alongside Guardiola, Arteta, Lopetegui and Unai Emery. Javi Gracia and Rubén Sellés are no longer in the league, having been sacked by Leeds United and Southampton. 

This is the official statement on Iraola's arrival: 

"We are delighted to announce the appointment of Andoni Iraola as the club's new manager for two years. We are very excited to welcome Andoni to the club," said AFC Bournemouth owner and chairman Bill Foley. "With his contract in Spain coming to an end this summer, we wanted to act quickly.

"He was highly sought after by other clubs across the continent, and his style of play has been an important factor in making this decision. His achievements in Spain have certainly been impressive, and we are confident he is the right man to lead our next chapter.

"We have identified a number of targets in the transfer market, which along with our January additions will complement our strong playing squad to give Andoni the best opportunity to cement our Premier League status and continue to progress."

Andoni starts working with the squad with pre-season in July. He will get an early look at his new squad before heading to a warm weather training camp in Marbella, taking on Hibernian and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the first two pre-season friendlies on July 13 and 16 respectively." 

Spanish dominance in the Premier League

After the signing of Andoni Iraola, the dominance of Spanish coaches in England is once again reaffirmed. The first, Pep Guardiola, won the league title and has been the best in the dugout practically since he arrived in Manchester. Mikel Arteta, the second, took Arsenal back to the top and came close to winning the Premiership. 

Julen Lopetegui arrived at Wolverhampton with clear ideas and brought the team back from relegation to make them dream of Europe. Unai Emery did the same with Aston Villa, taking the team into the Conference League places. Now it will be Iraola's turn to take the reins at Bournemouth, a club who are all too used to being relegated and promoted between the Championship and the Premier League.