Jefferson Lerma signed for Bournemouth in the summer transfer window after a long and difficult chase from the Premier League club.
At the end of July, we covered a report from Spain which explained the Colombian was frustrated with Levante for knocking back an offer from the Cherries.
He had considered staying away from the club to put pressure on the transfer situation, but changed his plan to travelling to Spain and confronting them.
Bournemouth had offered €25m as the initial fee, a further €2m in bonuses, and 15% of a future transfer fee.
Lerma was annoyed it had been turned down, as he believed moving to the Premier League was a big step in his career.
A day later, it was reported Bournemouth had returned with a new offer: A straight €30m.
That did the trick, and the 24 year old has been a regular this season.
He’s now away with Colombia and wants to continue his progress, learning from teammates at the national team.
Quoted by AS, he explained: “All the players want to be in the Colombian national team… I have been very happy to come here to enjoy, to continue learning from each one of my teammates. Learning things from them would be very important.”
There’s competition to get into the country’s midfield, and the Bournemouth player is happy with this, as long as it’s good natured: “Having competition is very good, the most important thing is that it’s healthy, there are very good players and they are at a great level, it is necessary to take advantage of all these things and do a good job.”
The South American media love talking up potential big transfers for their players, so it’ll be no surprise if, before the end of the international break, Lerma is asked about the next step in his career.
