Today, Cherries announced the signing of 22 year old Alvaro Rodriguez, but what will his role be under Marco Rose? In Bournemouth's most important season to date, he will be expected to hit the ground running straight away.
Having had an impressive first full season in La liga last campaign & graduating from Real Madrid's Academy in 2024, the signing of Alvaro Rodriguez has sparked a lot of interest amongst Bournemouth fans in terms of how he will impact the attacking impetus of the forward line.
When compared to Evanilson, Rodriguez is 193cm compared to Eva's 183cm, Rodriguez is left footed when Eva is both footed (shoots more with his right foot), and Rodriguez is in the top 2% of aerial duels won by attackers in the league, whereas Evanilson is in the bottom 45% of aerial duels won.
Going off these stats and highlight reels on social media, Rodriguez will compliment Evanilson excellently in a front 2 system which is what Marco Rose predominantly uses. Rodriguez will be used as the target man, who will win duels and be an aerial focal point, and Evanilson will be utilised to link up the play and drag defenders out of position.
Despite his impressive height, Elche fans online have waxed lyrical about how quick Alvaro is, which will result in him being equally as effective when the ball is played directly to him and when the ball is played in behind for him to run on to and bully defenders off the ball to score.
Last season, in his first full season as a professional player in La Liga, Rodriguez notched 7 goals and 5 assists in 24 starts for Elche, who finished 15th in La Liga in the 25/26 season.
Alvaro has represented Uruguay in youth levels, scoring 5 goals in 7 games for their u20's. As well as this, he scored for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in the league when he played 8 games for them in 22/23 which shows that he has had an eye for goal from a young age.
Marco Rose has been a fan of Rodriguez since his days managing RB Leipzig, and attempted to sign him in 2023/24, when Rodriguez was coming to the end of his time in Real Madrid's academy.
When Marco Rose managed RB Leipzig, the front 2 that was most effective for him was Ikoma Lois Openda & Benjamin Sesko. When compared to how Rodriguez & Evanilson will line up next season, Sesko is a very similar profile to Alvaro, being a tall focal point, with Openda being renowned for his pace in behind and high pressing intensity, similar to Evanilson.
Rodriguez is a completely different profile to Junior Kroupi, who will most likely play off the left under Marco Rose, and the difference in profiles show that he will not be seen as a Kroupi replacement, who Rose is keen to keep for the upcoming season.
Copyright: Steffen PrößdorfWith Rodriguez now confirmed, this will free up Enes Unal to leave the club, with clubs across Europe showing interest in the Turkish International.
Cherries fans will also know that Kroupi and Rayan are adequate backup options to Rodriguez and Evanilson, as Bournemiuth are blessed to having great depth all across the front line now.
